


The Pit

by Fenrirae



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Changing POV, M/M, Magical Shenanigans, Medieval Fantasy AU, Pining, Possessiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:48:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 66,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenrirae/pseuds/Fenrirae
Summary: “We’re going back to Gotham.Together.”.When Jason gets hit by a curse that starts to transform him into a dragon, their only hope seems to be the fabled location known as “The Pit”. However, they’re stuck in enemy territory with a mysterious mercenary hot on their trail as Jason’s control slips by the minute. Will they make it in time?
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson
Comments: 28
Kudos: 163





	1. The Unwelcome Guests

It was almost funny how fishy the whole thing was. _Almost_ , if not for the fact that Bruce could lose his life over this.

From his spot up on the fortress wall, he watched Bruce welcome Metropolitan envoys into the courtyard. 

They’d won the war, was this pandering really necessary? The tensions between Gotham and Metropolis had been sky-high ever since Gotham freed itself and became an independent land. A fragile peace was brokered ten years ago. That hadn’t stopped the Metropolitan High Court from publicly continue slandering Gotham and the way it was ruled by Bruce especially, painting him as a merciless warlord, whose greed could make him come for Metropolis at any moment.

As if.

For them to all of the sudden start speaking of alliances and trade deals was laughably shady.

Yet Bruce still deemed it necessary despite his protests. Even going as far as allowing them into the castle, claiming that he wouldn’t want to give the Metropolitan High Court and especially Lex Luthor, the high lord of Metropolis, more fuel to the already smoldering hostility between the regions. All Bruce had to do was to show that he was open to negotiations and listen. If he didn’t like what they had to say he could politely send them on their way.

At first glance, there was nothing peculiar about the visitors as they streamed into the courtyard. There were about three official trade diplomats, dressed in luxurious garbs matching the red and black colors of the Metropolis flag. A few feet behind the diplomats were a handful of guards. Their heavy armor was similarly adorned with red and black colors. Black helmets with spikes on top covered their faces from view.

No, the truly suspicious one was the “guest” just behind the guards. The figure was partly cloaked and their bland clothing consisting of a black cloak and greyish outfit stood out compared to the rest of the envoy. Why the hell was Bruce letting these people in? Shouldn’t the Metropolitan guards have been enough as a guard force? Everything about this person screamed out mercenary or assassin rather than a diplomat.

What stood out the most was the person’s face. It was half-covered with cloth, hiding the nose and mouth. But an unusually pale skin stuck out from the upper part. The figure’s eyes seemed to wander over the crowd as if they were trying to locate something. The figure then decided to look upward.

For an awkward moment, they locked eyes.

A hand slammed down on his shoulder, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

“Shouldn’t Gotham’s darling prince be down there, dicking around with the guests?”. Jason grinned before leaning over Dick’s shoulder.

He scoffed. “Could say the same to you. Did you manage things on your front?”.

Jason let go of his shoulder and leaned back, only to pin him down with a pointed glare. “Yeah, yeah, relax. I got it covered.” Jason shifted closer, glancing down at the visitors. “Guards have been posted at every entrance and the stables, as we’ve discussed. Archers are ready on standby at the castle exits. Patrols are now hourly. Barbara and Gordon are on their way. Bullock’s in charge of things downtown.”, he murmured.

“Good. Bed chambers?”

“Yup, taken care of.” Jason shifted slightly. “You seem awfully hellbent on something going down tonight. You really think they’d have the balls for it? Or anyone for that matter? In his own fortress with what, fifteen-something people, three of them being pompous asshats who have probably never even so much as gone near a weapon before?” Jason’s tone was ripe with contempt, sneering down at the envoy. “Besides, Bruce could probably take them all down single-handedly. None of us would even have to lift a finger.”.

Dick’s eyes landed on the unusual figures at the back once more, who were still scanning the room with wandering eyes.

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

* * *

He kept following from a distance as Bruce gave the guests a brief tour of select parts of the fortress. Jason, apparently having nothing better to do despite being the bloody captain of the guards, trailed after him while muttering about Dick being obstinate.

Dick stopped once to flip him off. Judging by the wide grin that cracked up on Jason’s face, it’d only served to amuse him further. 

Instead of leading the guests to the war room, where Bruce usually held his meetings, he instead led the party to one of fortress fancier dining rooms. Alfred was there to greet them once they arrived, already having refreshments prepared. The amount of Gothamite guards far outnumbered the Metropolitan ones. Bruce was joined by Gordon and Barbara shortly thereafter, escorted in by Alfred. Barbara grinned and winked at them when she passed them by in the hallway. He shot back a salute with a smile of his own.

It helped the uneasy feeling brewing in his gut. Barbara would see through any attempt on Bruce’s life long before it would even happen. As the chief constable’s daughter, she’d clashed with the underground of Gotham on an almost daily basis. As for Gordon himself, he might’ve gotten older. Still, that didn’t stop him from still doing some vicious takedowns during their training sessions.

Only a fool would try to attack Bruce during these circumstances. 

Now that he was close, he got a better look at the half-cloaked figure. The shape and upper face made him think it was a woman, though he couldn’t be entirely sure. The figure followed the three diplomats closely, no longer blatantly scanning the surroundings. That could be a good sign. Maybe they’d lost their interest.

Or they had already found what they were looking for. 

He made a move to follow the party entering the dining room, intending to join Jim and Barbara at Bruce’s side but that’s where Jason drew the line.

Jason grabbed him by the collar. “Goddammit, he’s _fine_. He’s got Barbara and Jim and a battalion of guards there for crying out loud. No need for you to stalk him too.”

* * *

Jason dragged him to the training grounds, claiming it’d be a good way to blow off some steam. They barely managed to step a foot in the yard before Jason had to put his arm up to block an incoming flying kick.

“Tt.”

“Nice seeing you too, brat.”

He merely stepped aside while Damian directed a series of punches and kicks in Jason’s direction.

Jason continuously blocked the barrage of kicks and blows. This only seemed to further infuriate Damian who did his best to force Jason to respond.

Oh boy. Unstoppable force, say hello to immovable object.

The fight dragged on as they kept going back and forth. He considered sneaking back to the dining room but Damian seemed to be losing his breath, clearly already fatigued from previously sparring with the guards before. He decided to launch a final desperate attack, trying to hit Jason with a high kick before quickly going in for a punch that would surely break Jason’s nose.

Jason was having none of it.

Clearly tired of Damian’s antics, he simply grabbed Damian’s arm and flung him over his shoulder down onto the ground, keeping hold of Damian’s arm the whole time. Damian gasped helplessly and thumped down hard. Ouch. It was a bit harsher than Dick would’ve done.

Jason put his foot on Damian’s chest, keeping him down.

“Had enough?”

Damian’s face looked pained, but he still managed to glare at Jason. It was kind of admirable, considering the beating he just took.

“Just wait, Todd. It won’t be long until I’ll be knocking you on your ass.”

For a brief moment, it seemed as if Jason was going to push down on Damian’s chest even harder, leaning in slightly. He tensed and was about to interrupt the two when Jason stepped back with an unimpressed scowl.

He walked over to offer his hand, but Damian was already on his feet in seconds. He brushed off the dust from his pants and turned to him.

“What’s your assessment of our guests?” Damian asked. It was kinda adorable how he couldn't hide the pout while trying to act indifferent about what'd just occurred. 

“It’s a small envoy, a few diplomats and a handful of guards. No kingsguards. Bruce should be able to handle it. Barbara and Jim are with him right now.”

In his periphery, he could see Jason glaring at him, his bullshit detector probably blaring at full volume.

“I see. Perhaps it won’t be like last time then.”

The memory flashed involuntarily in his mind. Bruce lying on the ground within these very walls, back broken. The massive killer known as Bane had been inches from getting a good grasp of Bruce’s neck. He would’ve either choked Bruce to death or simply snapped his neck and they wouldn’t have been able to do a single thing about it hadn’t Diana arrived with reinforcements just in time to distract him. That’d been the last time in years an enemy had ever set a foot within the gates. Until now.

As he let the memory wash away, he wrapped his arm around Damian’s shoulder, pulling him close, and ruffled his hair.

“No, it won’t.”

* * *

The grand dining hall was filled to the brim that evening. The mood was surprisingly jolly considering who their guests were. The Metropolitan envoys seemed to mingle with ease. Both the Gothamite and Metropolitan guards however kept to their separate rows of long tables on each side of the hall. They seemed to disregard one another, clanking their jugs of ale and chattering idly with their fellow men. The smell of roasted chicken seasoned with rosemary filled the air, as the kitchen staff put out the food at each table. The men cheered.

He fiddled with the cutlery as he glanced at the strange woman. She seemed to have dropped all pretense. She often stared right at the table where Jason, Damian, him, Barbara and Jim were sitting alongside Bruce. Sometimes it seemed like she was looking straight at him, giving him goosebumps. The whole thing made the alarms in his head go haywire. Even the loud chatter surrounding them couldn’t silence it.

The others at his table seemed to be having a good time. A chuckle rumbled out of Jason at something Barbara had said. It abruptly stopped, when Damian saw it as an opening to snatch his unguarded dessert. The debacle nearly ended with Jason putting a fork through Damian’s hand. Barbara and Jim just looked at them bemused.

Sipping on the ale, he looked over to Bruce who was quietly observing the guests in the room.

Unintentionally, his eyes wandered back to the woman. Yet again, she was looking at them without averting her gaze. She wasn’t even trying to be discreet. Nuh-uh. It was decided. He was not going to let her out of his sight for the remainder of the night. Not a chance, Jason be damned. He’d rather be overprotective than find Bruce’s dead body floating down in the moat. 

Bruce seemed to have caught on too, judging by the glance he shot the woman and later at Dick.

He gave Bruce a barely noticeable nod when the woman finally turned away as one of the diplomats spoke to her. 

* * *

He excused himself as the dinner party started to wind down.

On cue, Jason shot him an odd stare. Crap. He quirked his mouth up in what he hoped was a relaxed and reassuring smile. Jason raised his eyebrow curiously, probably mentally berating him somehow. 

While pretending to head back to his chambers, he greeted the two guards, Robert and Sam, posted outside the dining hall. Rather than keep going straight, he took the swirling set of stairs to the right. Once making sure the floor was clear, he ambled his way towards the window.

The air was cold and pricked his fingers but his hands held steady. He’d walked these marble ledges countless times before. They were wide enough for him to be able to hug the wall and step by step approach the windows near the entrance to the grand dining hall. 

After making sure his silhouette was out of sight by hugging the wall, he peered inside. Soon enough, people were exiting the grand dining hall and spilling into the hallway. The Metropolitan diplomats seemed rather drunk and were chattering loudly. They walked with their guards and the woman toward the wing designated for guests, led by Alfred and a couple of Gothamite guards. Bruce and the rest of the family parted ways and headed in the other direction, also surrounded by Gothamite guards.

Robert and Sam remained stationed in the other end of the hallway. He waited until he wasn’t in their line of sight. Prying open the window and closing it silently, he jumped down. The thud was a bit louder than he’d wished but neither of them seemed to notice, too caught up in their conversation.

His nerves were buzzing as he crossed the room in a few strides, keeping to the darker corners. Geez, Jason would have a field day if he got caught.

However, it was a success and soon he was sneaking after the envoy. They shouldn’t be far off but he kept his distance. Should the need arise, the bleak fortress offered many nooks and crannies for him to quickly hide in.

They seemed unaware, as Alfred led them to their chambers. Their quarters were within a long hallway containing several bed chambers.

Alfred left, most of the Gothamite guards following suit except for the two stationed to guard the exit. He had to clamber backward and hide behind a pillar to avoid detection, as the two guards approached.

The woman lingered outside in the hallway along with the diplomats and three Metropolitan guards. The rest of the guards entered their designated bed chambers. The group seemed to be some sort of lively discussion, far too quiet for him to hear though. One of the envoys pointed towards one of the chambers and they all entered it. The two Gothamite guards at the exit seemed just as perplexed as himself, squinting their eyes at the scene and observing quietly.

This was it. There had to be a way to find out what they were talking about.

He didn’t even get time to contemplate his next move before the door opened again. That was fast. The woman slammed the door shut and stood still for a moment.

Then she strode towards the exit.

The Gothamite guards seemed to stiffen, tightening their hold on their sword handles, but made no move. He pulled his head back as she drew near. She whispered something in a foreign language. It started smelling like some sort of…. incense?

A guard told her firmly to cease what she was doing. Metal boots pounded against the floor. Followed by a sudden thumping noise. Then another heavy thud.

No time to waste. Dick launched himself in their direction, bringing out the escrima sticks strapped to the sides of his pants.

The element of surprise let him land a blow that knocked the woman to the ground. Just not hard enough, as she managed to pull herself together and raised the longsword in her hand. He shot a quick glance sideways only to see the bodies of the two Gothamite guards on the floor. Whatever she had used had cut through their metal armor, as their blackened stripes of charred armor still smoldering green before fading to black.

He whipped his head back as the woman once again spoke in that odd foreign language, reminiscent of chanting. The inscriptions on the longsword started glowing green, as did her eyes. She lashed out with the sword, causing him to dodge backward. He heard rustling from behind and swords being drawn. He spared a glance backward, just to see the Metropolitan guards move towards him.

Crap.

He raised his escrima sticks. The strange woman was definitely the bigger threat at the moment. Just as he was about to launch his attack, the windows broke, and _Jason_ stormed through. The guards didn’t even have time to react before Jason had stuck his sword through the space between the body armor and helmet of the first guard.

Dick didn’t manage to see what happened to the other one as the woman attacked. He barely managed to defend the strike. She chanted again. Suddenly, his escrima sticks felt like they were boiling in his hand. He dropped them and quickly rolled to the side as she slashed at him.

Her speed was _insane_. He’d just put distance between them before she was right up in his face again. This time he had nothing to defend himself with.

She managed a shallow cut on his left arm before he could grab a torch off the wall near his head and throw it at her. The damn wound on his arm felt like it was boiling and blistering. The distraction with the torch would only work for a few seconds, he had to do _something_.

There was no use thinking, so all he could do was settle on the first idea that popped in his head. He plucked the small, firm shape out of his pocket and launched it on the ground. It hit the ground and with a whoosh quickly filled the hallway with black smoke. In his head, he was giving Lucius a thousand blessings for giving him that.

Jason yelled his name from somewhere. Damn, she was still out there and there he was, yelling like a madman.

No time to lose.

He closed in on where she’d just been standing, got hold of the arm holding the sword. He caught it in a grapple and _twisted_. She yelped in pain but nonetheless attempted to kick him. He dragged her forward, bending the arm up behind her back and got his other arm around her neck. She flailed wildly, trying to get him to let go of the arm holding the sword. She pounded her fist against his leg, tried to bite him and choked out a few syllables in the same foreign tongue as before until her body finally grew limp.

Dick carefully loosened his grip, making sure she really was knocked out. The burning sensation in his suddenly wound cooled down and the longsword ceased glowing.

“For fucks sake, _Dick_! Answer dammit! And you Metropolitan pigs, take one step out of those rooms and you’ll end up gutted like these dirtbags! Don’t think for a second you’ll make it out of this castle alive!”.

A surge of relief washed through him.

“I’m here, I’m OK. I got her,” he called out.

It took some effort but he managed to reach out his foot and pushed the longsword away, sliding it out of reach. Then he got to work on tying the woman’s hands tightly with his belt.

As the smoke started to clear, Jason zeroed in on his location. In a few big strides, he was crouching down next to him and rather forcefully checked him for injuries. Before he could bat his hands away, his jaw was grabbed harshly and turned from side to side. As Jason glanced downwards, his eyes landed on his wound. 

“Here, lemme get that.” Jason started ripping fabric from his tunic.

“Wait, let’s secure her and the rest first. We need to-”

“ _No_. Why the hell did you do this without backup?”

“This was just supposed to be reconnaissance, seeing what they were up to.”

He winced as Jason tied the fabric around his arm, a bit tighter than necessary. Blood tainted the fabric with a red, blooming spot. 

“Not to be ungrateful but kind of took me by surprise there, buddy.”. Was there any tactful way to say it? Of course not. “Were you following me?”.

Jason seemed to be struggling to answer. “You were acting weird. And what with all that the paranoia all day, staring at the people from the envoy, and leaving dinner early, of course you wouldn’t leave them alone.” It all came tumbling out a little bit too fast. 

It actually stunned him. He opened his mouth to reply but suddenly, the bells started ringing loudly.

* * *

They bumped into a bunch of Gothamite guards on their way out of the guest wing. Nearby guards had heard the racket of their fighting and had quickly summoned backup, as per protocol. They moved to detain the woman and the rest of the envoy. They knew nothing else about the bells and what was going on.

He didn’t wait for them to finish their report but burst out of the hallway first chance he got, racing towards Bruce’s and Damian’s chambers.

Both were strong but considering that their opponents were wielding some type of magic, one could never be certain. Jason was cursing while trying to keep up with him. With each step, all he could hope for was that Barbara and Gordon were already there, that Bruce wasn’t alone with just a handful of guards.

On their way through the halls, they bumped into a disheveled-looking Alfred, strays of hair hanging in his grim face.

“Master Dick! Master Jason, quick! Both of you, you need to go after him _at once_!”.

“Go after who? What happened? Why are the bells ringing?”. He tried to sound calm but it all came out in a shaky breath.

“It’s Master Bruce. He’s gone after the intruders, just minutes ago with barely any support. I went back to his chamber to report back after escorting the visitors from the envoy. When I arrived, several guards were already down and Master Bruce was in midst of combat. Please, you have to hurry!”.

Dammit, after all the preparations yet it still came to this? He cursed inwardly.

“They took Master Damian.”

At that, Dick simply turned and headed for the stables in full speed.

* * *

“Why the brat? Are they trying to make Bruce follow them into an ambush?”. Jason huffed at him while they rode through the grassy plains, now outside the castle walls with a handful of guards in tow.

“I don’t know. Maybe they weren’t confident in succeeding while within the fortress.”

Alfred had mentioned that Bruce had about a few minutes head start. That’d be enough should the enemy be well prepared and outnumber Bruce. They needed to reach him before that.

The horses rode onto a forest path shrouded in dark except for the dim moonlight and their torches.

They followed the fresh hooves imprints in front of them, which made them veer off the path up towards a mountain path, towards the border between Gotham and Metropolis. As their horses started their way up the mountain, they could hear the sounds of a battle. Rocks shattered, and several screams pierced the air.

When a green shimmer lit up in front of them, he knew they didn’t have much time.

As they arrived there was nothing but utter chaos. Bruce’s men were locked in fierce battles with opposing guards, much larger in number than the ones at the castle. Both sides were blood-soaked and dirty. There was a strong smell of incense, much like the one Dick had smelled at the castle as if someone had thrown used a canon.

His eyes finally found Bruce a bit further up the path. Bruce was busy fighting two women, both similar to the one Dick had fought except they were wearing _Gothamite_ armor without helmets. One wielded dual-daggers and was slashing at Bruce in a quick succession. The other one had a spear. She circled Bruce and attempted to stab him when it seemed like her comrade had created an opening. Both weapons had the same eerie green glow as they had encountered before.

Behind the two women and Bruce was a slain horse and a hooded figure. The figure was using a staff to carve marks into the earth and seemed to be chanting. Beside the figure was the shape of a young boy, lying on the ground seemingly unconscious.

The horses were getting spooked by the fighting. There was no way to quickly maneuver them through the battlefield. He simply jumped off and began running. Jason followed suit. The guards that had followed them dismounted as well and came to their fellow soldiers aid.

They tore through, only stopping to defend themselves from incoming blows. He zeroed in on Bruce, who seemed to have a hard time getting the upper hand on the two women. They were well-coordinated and quick on their feet. Bruce tried launching one of his throwing knives in the direction of the hooded figure that was chanting something but it was deflected by the woman with the spear. While stepping back a bit, she also took notice of him and Jason as they approached. She yelled to the cloaked figure behind her, who sped up the chanting.

Out of the pocket, the figure drew out a vial with red liquid.

The liquid was poured on the ground, where symbols had been drawn inside a circle. The inscribed marks started glowing green.

“What the hell?” Jason exclaimed. 

Bruce took advantage of the spear-woman’s distraction to launch a brutal series of attacks on the other woman with the daggers. She was busy parrying Bruce’s blows. She held up well but with Bruce’s full attention on her without distractions, she didn’t stand much of a chance. He blocked one of her knives, grabbed the other arm and made her stab herself in the thigh with it. She screamed and Bruce took the opportunity to grab her and headbutt her, following it up with a knee to the stomach. Bruce threw her to the side where she fell, motionless.

It was at this moment they finally reached him. The spear-wielding woman looked very hesitant and started backing up a bit but to no avail. He and Jason were already on her. Jason used his sword to tear her arm clean off. The arm and spear landed on the ground, rolling away. The woman looked too shocked to scream. He used that opportunity to swipe at her legs out with a low-kick, knocking her to the ground and then in one fluid motion elbowing her face. She stopped moving.

Bruce moved past them as they struggled and advanced on the hooded figure. Beside him, Damian stirred. Thank the gods, he seemed okay. The hooded figure nearly stumbled back while concentrating on Bruce, missing out on Damian untying the ropes around his wrists with a hidden blade from his sleeve. 

The ground began to shake. 

The hooded figure ceased chanting and put his or her hands together, forming a circle. The figure lifted the hands, like an aim, at Bruce’s direction. A glowing green light appeared in the empty space between the circled hands.

The next seconds seemed like they passed in slow motion. Damian had managed to stand up and jumped on the hooded figure’s back, stabbing the throat with his blade.

It was too late though.

The figure still managed to launch a green, radiating beam at Bruce, as blood sprayed and stained the ground.

Bruce wasn’t going to be able to dodge it. All he could do was yell, too far away to do anything.

Jason, however, was not.

He flung himself at Bruce, shoving him to the side as the hooded figure unleashed the green beam at them before collapsing. The beam hit Jason square in his chest. The released energy caused a shockwave and the mountain path under their feet started making crackling noises. The earth ruptured as if it was about to fall apart.

Jason fell to his knees, lifeless.

He scrambled to his side and got a hold of his shoulders.

“Jason! Jay!” He shook him, over and over. No response. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…!”

Damian collapsed to his knees as well, vomiting from whatever they’d done to knock him unconscious. Bruce froze next to them, staring emptily at Jason.

There was another crumbling noise, followed by Damian coughing. He waved at Bruce to go.

Bruce stopped hesitating and jumped in Damian’s direction before the path they stood on collapsed completely. The ground started to break, but not before he grabbed Damian, holding him tightly in one of his arms. Bruce quickly jumped forward, getting them far enough from part of the path that was crumbling.

He tried to do the same with Jason, clutching his body close and pulling him backward.

Suddenly, there was nothing for them to stand on or hold onto. They fell helplessly, followed by the echo of Bruce’s shout.


	2. The Curse

The first sensation was pure and utter _pain_. His chest in particular throbbed, as if someone had bashed it with a large hammer.

Then there was the feeling of a hard surface against his back. Definitely not the floor of the tavern. More uneven. Just the mere twitch as he tried to move sent pain flaring. Shit. He couldn’t even muster enough energy to move his lips, not even a single finger.

Was he paralyzed?

The panic seemed to finally grant him enough rush to overcome the numbness. His eyelids cracked open, slowly. _Ouch_. The light coming from the rising sun above the tree crowns made his eyes squint and almost tear up, making him blink several times.

How long had he been out?

He started to shift, attempting to lift himself up, but something was weighing down his right arm.

Turning his head, he found himself almost bumping noses with Dick.

Dick was lying on his side with one of his arms draped over Jason’s chest. His eyes were tightly shut. He seemed…disturbingly still. However, there were small puffs of air coming out of Dick’s slightly parted lips. Some of his hair hung down and obscured parts of his face. There were specks of dirt on the visible parts of his cheek and chin.

Jason hesitated to move. Then it all came back to him. The fucking shitshow on the mountain.

He flailed, wrenching his arm out from underneath Dick, who didn’t even seem to register it.

When he sat up, the forest was spinning, a blurry mess.

Sitting still was all he could do for a while until his focus came back. The first thing he registered was the sight of Dick’s body littered with scrapes and injuries, clothes torn in various places. His wound on the arm from the fight with the sword-wielding woman had opened and was leaking droplets of blood. His fingertips were covered in dirt and more blood. The hand that’d been draped across Jason’s chest had fallen down onto his thighs when he sat up and left a bloody imprint.

“Dick...hey! Dickhead, wake the fuck up.” Jason shook him, probably not as gently as he should at first. So stupid. What if Dick had any internal injuries?

It took a while but then Dick finally opened his eyes. The first thing out of his mouth was a pained groan as he shifted onto his back. It was the sweet sound of life.

Dick exhaled slowly before fixating his stupid, pretty blue eyes on him.

“Hey…you in one piece, Jay?”.

And now he wanted to laugh.

“ _I’m fine_. What the hell happened _to you_? You look like a dummy used for sword practice.”.

Dick started to chuckle before wincing at the pain of it. “That sounds about right…”. He seemed hesitant to continue. “…That weird mage hit you with something. The mountain path started collapsing...”.

“ _Yes_ , I’m aware of getting hit by whatever that was. What I don’t get is why the hell are _you_ here. What happened to the others?”. He didn’t know where the unreasonable anger was coming from but he had to bite back. Something was bubbling fiercely in his chest him but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“We, um, fell.”.

“Why ‘we’? You were supposed to get Damian.”.

“Bruce got Damian. They’re safe, I think. Last I saw, they were out of range of the collapsing path.”

Okay, now things were starting to make sense.

“Why weren’t you?”

Dick looked perplexed, tilting his head like he didn’t understand what Jason was saying.

“What do you mean? You were there.”

Jason clenched his teeth. “Yes, and so what?”

Now Dick started to look annoyed, his eyebrows furrowing. “What do you mean so what? What was I supposed to do, leave you there and run by myself?”.

Oh by the gods, he couldn’t possibly be this stupid.

“ _Yes!_ That’s precisely what you should have done! What’s the point of both of us going down?”

Jason watched as Dick’s annoyance turned into full-blown anger.

“What the- Family doesn’t do that, Jay. And we didn’t both go down _because_ I held onto you. You were out cold, you’d have died. We were damn lucky Mother Nature decided to allow friggin’ tree branches to grow off that mountain wall. Otherwise, we’d be lumps of meat right now. Instead of acting like a big grump, how about we just be grateful about that.”

It was nearly a yell and Dick didn’t stop to breathe, eyes flashing with fury.

That just made his own blood boil.

If Dick wanted a fight, game on. He was about to scream right back at him about his ridiculous hero complex when Dick suddenly gasped and stared at him in complete awe.

“Holy crap, Jason…”

“What?”

When Dick kept quiet, Jason had to exclaim a harsher “ _What?!”_ before Dick finally answered him.

“Your eyes…they’re glowing green.”

* * *

It was a quiet trudge through the forest.

After resting a bit, they agreed to keep close to the mountain wall in order to find the path leading up the mountain and barrier between Gotham and Metropolis. This was bad news. This had to be the Metropolitan side, considering where they’d fallen. In that case, following the wall west toward Gotham would lead them to a dead end, as it would be blocked by the mountain. It would be too high to climb, especially in their current condition.

They instead opted to go eastwards while hugging the wall and venturing deeper into the Metropolitan region. Chances were that the eastward mountain path would be guarded by Metropolitan forces, but they didn’t have much of a choice. Once there, they could reassess their situation and perhaps sneak past the guards and get back to Gotham.

Seemed like a plan. He tried focusing on that but Dick’s words rang in his mind. He could barely believe it when Dick had uttered that his eyes were glowing _green_. The look on his face spoke of genuine disbelief though. The weird feeling in chest that had intensified during the argument further substantiated it.

When he calmed down, mostly out of shock, the glow seemed to have faded out of his eyes. At least according to Dick.

They didn’t really talk about it after that. Both already knew what the likely source for this was. Fucking mages, man.

Something pulled him out of his thoughts: the approaching sound of hooves.

“I think we’ve got company.”.

“Thinking friendly or foe?”, Dick asked.

“I dunno. Could be a search party.”. He pointed upwards. “Let’s hide.”

They were both still injured from the fall, even if Dick had dampened it by grabbing and holding onto whatever he could on the way down, both branches and protrusions on the mountain wall. They also barely had any equipment. Jason had lost his sword in the fall and Dick had nothing, not even a dagger. Their odds weren’t great at the moment.

Jason’s hunch proved correct. The approaching riders were Metropolitan guards, seemingly agitated by something.

They heard what appeared to be the commander of the group bark out “Anything?” at his men.

“Nothing, sir. Really think they made it out alive, sir?”, one of the guards replied wearily, smothering a yawn.

Not a regular patrol then. Of course. Considering the direction they’d come from, they must’ve passed the landing site and collapsed debris.

The optimal hiding spot seemed to be up in one of the robust trees they came across. It had thick branches and leaves, keeping them well out of sight once they got far up enough. He offered Dick his hand and pulled him up the last stretch onto a branch.

They watched the riders through a small crack between the leaves. Suckers, never bothering to look upwards.

Jason resisted the urge to let out a celebratory sigh after they’d passed by. He bumped shoulders with Dick. The branch they were perched on didn’t leave much space, especially not for two grown men. As such, Dick was practically sprawled on top of him.

Which was getting weird. His heart was speeding up for some odd reason. The realization that it was speeding up just made it thump even more. Thanks, brain. In response, Dick clung closer to him, shallow breaths fanning his face. His head was nestled against Jason’s chest.

Jason ignored it and simply kept his head turned to the side, focused on the small crack in the leaves. He just wrapped his arm around him tighter, just to make sure Dick didn’t fall off. That’s all.

He felt Dick’s fingers tap the side of his jaw. Once Jason finally looked at him, Dick mouthed quietly “ _Take horses_ _?”_

Jason shook his head and mouthed _“Too risky.”_ back at him.

* * *

Once the coast seemed clear, they got down from the tree and started walking.

Their pace was too slow for Jason’s liking and Dick seemed to be limping somewhat.

“They’re probably going to be searching the mountain wall back and forth. Think there are more of them nearby?” Dick asked.

“Let’s not find out. We’ll keep en route, follow the mountain wall. It will lead us to the path.”

“But they’re patrolling it. And who knows how many of them there are out there? Shouldn’t we find a place to lay low?”

What to do? He wanted to get them back to Gotham as soon as possible. But clearly, they were reaching their limit for today. The injuries were taking their toll and they’d barely gotten any time to rest. Neither of them had eaten anything and only stopped once to drink from a small water stream. As the sun rays above the tree crowns were fading, he was inclined to agree with Dick.

“What should we do then, Dick? Camp in another tree? Build a fancy little treehouse?”. 

Dick sighed. “I was going to suggest finding the nearest village. Hide in plain sight. Sneak into a barn or something, perhaps get some supplies. On that road we just passed, there was a sign pointing to someplace called Fairview. It can’t be far off.”.

“Sounds risky. They’re probably searching nearby villages as well. If a villager spots us, they probably won’t have any qualms about reporting us.”

“Let’s not be seen then. C’mon.”.

It was impressive how Dick kept up appearances. You’d have to have known him for a while to catch the weary waver in his voice. Just for a second, it got low and there was a slight breathy stutter. Combined with the fact that he had sustained more injuries than Jason, it was only a matter of time before he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Frankly, both of them were reaching their limits.

“Fine. Lead the way, your highness. Try not to get us killed, yeah?”

“I’ve done a pretty good job so far, right?”

Dick winked at him. Jason returned it with the iciest glare he could muster.

It didn’t even phase Dick. The shithead just cast him a gleeful smile before marching on.

* * *

Dick’s grand scheme turned out to be pretending to be merchants who’d been robbed by bandits. Oh well. They didn’t have much else to work with to make any other believable ploy.

The village itself turned out to be a lot bigger than Jason had imagined. That was good. It wouldn’t be impossible to blend in and it would take time for patrols to locate them with at least hundreds of villagers to go through.

It had gotten pitch dark. The only sources of light in the village were lanterns perched on pedestals of stone acting as street lighting. The flickering flames within the lanterns were dim.

A few local guards were wandering around with torches, watching the perimeters. Most houses were shrouded in darkness.

Dick was getting really unsteady on his feet. Instead of sneaking around the whole village, they settled on a nearby stable.

Two horses stood in separate stalls but didn’t pay them much notice besides a small whinny from the smaller black steed. More importantly though was the barrel of water and bucket of carrots. ¨

Just looking at it made both their stomachs growl in unison. Dick must’ve been really off his rocks from the pain because he nearly let out a hysterical laugh before smothering it with his own hand.

Once they’d indulged in their “feast”, they could attend to their wounds. It stung like hell and he couldn’t contain a hiss as he poured water over the bleeding, stinging cuts.

It was a humungous relief when they finally huddled up on a patch of hay together in one of the empty horse stalls. _They’d made it_. It’d been with a hair’s breadth given magic beams, free-falling off a cliff and clashing with Metropolitan soldiers but damn if they hadn’t slammed the door in death’s face. Tomorrow would bring its slew of new problems but for now, he was just going to lay here and be high on life.

He took the first watch, ready to fight for it but Dick just gratefully accepted his offer. It must’ve been less than two minutes before Dick completely blacked out. He was a bit pale and bruised. But the expression on his sleeping face was nothing if serene. Perhaps he was also relishing in the fact that they were alive, washing away whatever aches that remained from the fall.

Strands of hair fell in Dick’s face.

Instinctively, his hand reached out and stroke them aside again. Then it seemed as if his fingers had a mind of their own. They got greedy and started thread themselves gently through the silky strand of raven hair, eventually settling on top of Dick’s head with his thumb stroking small circles.

* * *

He must’ve been more tired than he’d realized because he suddenly woke to the sound of footsteps and talking outside the stable.

Motherload of shit. They’d both fallen asleep.

The plan had been to sneak out _before_ anyone had even been awake.

He cursed inwardly and lightly shook Dick, who stirred groggily and was about to say something when Jason hushed him with a finger to his lips. It put Dick on high alert immediately, who also heard the approaching footsteps.

They scrambled to their feet lightning fast. But it was too late. The doors to the stables were already opening. If it came down to it, Jason was going to have to use his fists or whatever tools nearby that could make for a makeshift weapon.

There was a pitchfork not too far away that looked promising.

“…the eggs should be gooey, not hardboiled. That just makes me lose my appetite.”

"Nah, if anything the sight of gooey eggs should be what makes you lose appetite. It looks disgusting, all runny and messy. A hardboiled egg is firm. The taste of the yolk is more contained and concentrated.”

They heard a scoff. “Bullshit”. 

The footsteps were nearing the stall they were hiding in. Jason clenched his fists.

Then Dick, the idiot, suddenly blurted out a “Hello?”. He was dumbfounded. And seriously eager to punch him.

The footsteps came to an abrupt halt and it got deadly quiet. Dick walked out of the stall before he could stop him, hands up and a hesitant smile on his lips.

“Hey, sorry for surprising you like this.”

He followed him out, watching the men stiffening even further as they noticed him as well.

“We didn’t mean to intrude on your property. You see, we were just traveling the roads and-“

“What the- Who the fuck are you?” one of the men exclaimed. He was a short fellow, with light brown hair and freckles speckled all over his face. The other one was taller and lankier. They looked spooked like they wanted to run.

“Like I was telling you, me and my friend here are peddlers. Just yesterday we were robbed. They took everything we had and left us to bite the dust. We just crashed at the first best place we came upon. It was late and we didn’t want the guards to mistake us for bandits. We, um, may have helped ourselves to a bit of your water and carrots.”, Dick continued.

The two men looked at each other, clearly not buying it. Surprisingly wise of them.

However, Dick was nothing if an accomplished actor. Jason had watched him enthrall men and women from all over the world who’d visited Bruce’s gatherings and social events. He hadn’t lost them yet.

“We’re so sorry. Would you like us to leave or is there anything we can do to repay you for crashing at your stable? Labor or anything? Please? We’re unarmed and we promise not to resist in case you want to take us to the guards.”

Yeah right.

The men still looked hesitant. The shorter one of them muttered, “Take ‘em to Charles?”. The taller man nodded. “Yeah, let Charles decide”.

They waved for them to follow. The shorter man started walking toward the house while the taller man waited for them to walk along first.

Hell to the no. “Charles” could be code for anything.

Then Dick casually strolled after, dammit.

‘Charles’ turned out to be the owner of the house. The two men they met at the stables were Ben and Larry, working there in exchange for housing, food and a small pay. Charles was a plump and neatly dressed man. He sprouted a bushy mustache and his eyes looked stern as he observed them.

Dick introduced him as Peter and himself as Robin. Under scrutiny, Dick rehashed his story and after he’d finished, Charles didn’t say anything for what seemed like an eternity. Probably scheming on how to screw them over, the way he was scrutinizing them and Jason in particular. He tried to relax like Dick, slouching down a bit as to not seem threatening. He was supposed to be a victim, not a watchdog ready to attack.

Despite whatever Charles actually made of their story, he seemed to finally settle on something.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Desperate times require desperate measures. As such, you need not worry about the night you spent in our stables. We won’t press any charges.”.

Alright, that’s a good start.

“However, I can’t really help you much further. Our house is full, and we have enough workers as it is. You’d be better off heading to one of the local inns. I’d recommend the Lion Pride Inn in particular. They’re big enough to at least offer you housing in exchange for labor. Even if they can’t take you in, they should at least be able to point you to other possible work opportunities.”.

Dick bowed his head in gratitude and beamed at Charles. “We can’t thank you enough, sir. It sounds like the exact type of place we need right now.”

Cue the Grayson Charm. Although it was clear as hell that Charles doubted them and probably just wanted them gone, he was still unable to resist it and shook Dick’s hand.

“Please, it’s nothing. Ben here can help you get cleaned up. Also, feel free to join us for lunch later before you leave.”.

Ben led them back into the house, to the washroom. Jason was starting to think it was all a ruse. Everything seemed so out of place, especially if Charles really didn’t believe them. This kind of hospitality was practically non-existent in Gotham. Maybe he’d send Larry off to fetch the guards while they washed.

Once Ben had helped them draw a bath, he left them alone. Okay, so not keeping tabs on them. That’s good.

Both he and Dick stood and stared at the metal tub, neither of them moving. It was too small for both of them.

“You go ahead, Ja-“ Dick started at the same time as Jason said, “Jump in first.”.

Both fell silent. Dick cleared his throat. As if things couldn’t get more awkward.

“Alright then, if you insist,” Dick said and started to remove his clothing. When he removed his shirt, he hissed. The hefty number of bruises and cuts littered on his torso was now clearly visible. One particularly nasty bruise had formed over his right ribs. The cut on Dick’s right arm was still fresh and hadn’t healed much. At least it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

As he tried counting the number of visible bruises in his head, he couldn’t help but note Dick’s solid build, despite being shorter. Lean and mean, as Dick often described himself when they’d sparred in their younger years.

Okay, this ogling was getting creepy. He startled himself out of it and quickly averted his gaze. “I’ll keep watch. Make sure no one gets the drop on us.”

“Why, thank you kind sir.”. Dick said it in the same uppity tone of voice he’d used on Charles. He even gave Jason a curtsy like some maiden before he began removing his underpants.

“Oh fuck off. You know, if they try to catch us right now, you’re going to have to run naked out of here.”

“Ha, imagine telling Bruce about that. His eldest ward running around nude, scarring the minds of young Metropolitan maidens with his schlong. That’d be legendary.” Dick chuckled at the image. 

“Doubt that they’d be scarred, more likely the opposite”, Jason murmured under his breath. Based on previous experiences, people would probably just swoon.

Dick was occupied with lowering himself into the bath and was hissing once his body came first touched the water. “Sorry, Jay, what were you saying?”, he huffed out. As he sank further down, Dick let out a pleased groan. “Oh, this is awesome. I will _never_ take baths for granted ever again”.

That’s when he made his exit, choosing to keep watch outside. It’d be easier to see any unwelcome visitors that way, surely.

As he closed the door, Dick let out another criminally filthy groan of delight.

* * *

Okay, maybe he’d been just a teeny weeny bit overly suspicious.

Both bathing and eating lunch went off without a hitch. Sated and clean, he and Dick departed from Charles's property. Dick had once more thanked Charles, who’d simply wished them good luck and sent them on their way.

Unless they were planning some sort of ambush, it seems as if Charles hadn’t tipped anyone off.

In contrast to last night, the village streets were bustling with life. There were various shops and street stalls scattered through the main street. The buildings themselves were a mix of stony and wooden structures. The villagers seemed accustomed to travelers passing through, as barely anyone paid them any mind other when trying to palm off their goods.

Dick was also looking better and limped a bit less.

Lion Pride Inn turned out to be a tall wooden building in midst of the town. It stuck out from the rest of the grey brown houses as it was lavishly coated in purple paint.

“Okay, so the innkeeper then. What do you think he’s like?” Dick asked.

“No idea. Agreeable, I hope.”

Once they stepped inside, they were with what looked like a typical bar. In contrast to the bright sunlight outside it was dimmer. The interior design shared the same purple theme as the façade. There were only a few patrons, most of them playing cards or socializing while sipping on their various beverages. Contrary to his expectations, the place didn’t reek either. In fact, he might be smelling freshly baked bread from somewhere.

They walked over to the counter. It was manned by an exotic-looking woman with fiery red hair. She was stunning and they seemed to have caught her attention as her half-lidded green eyes turned to them. Just as with Charles, he decided to let Dick do the talking.

“Hey, we’re looking for the innkeeper. We heard from a man named Charles that he might be looking to expand his workforce.”

The lady looked them up and down. “You got _her_ , this is my inn.”. She quirked up her eyebrow. “Travelers? What brings you to Fairview?”

“We’re peddlers. This is Peter, I’m Robin. We were robbed on our way here. Right now, we’ve got nothing. If possible, we’re looking to do some temporary work in exchange for housing and perhaps a small pay before we’re good to go again.”.

She observed them similar to the way Charles had scrutinized them. Something about her gaze felt more perceptive like she could gather and analyze several tidbits about them from just looking.

Something must’ve made her take pity on them because she nodded at them. “How long do you think you’ll be staying?”.

“A couple of days, two weeks tops.”.

“Alright. We might be able to squeeze you two in if it’s temporary. Any relevant skills?”

“Peter here can cook. I consider myself decent at entertaining and handling customers. We’re a bit hurt from the robbery but we can also do physical labor to a certain extent.”.

“Good. I’m Kory.”. She let out a loud whistle. A young man with green hair came stomping out of a side door, presumably the one leading to the kitchen.

“Gar, these are new recruits who’ll be with us temporarily. Take them to their quarters. Let them get settled and rest for a bit. After that, Peter will be helping in the kitchen. Pair Robin up with Donna.”.

The young man smiled and nodded.

Before they could leave, Kory held up her hand. Her eyes turned sharp. “I don’t want any trouble. Consider tonight a trial run. Cause a mess or bring any problems to my doorstep and you’re out of here. Got it?”

They could only nod at that.

* * *

“I don’t like this. What if we’re putting these people in danger?”

The green haired boy called Garfield had escorted them to the staff quarters located on the basement floor. Already on their way there, he could see that Dick’s face looked strained. Almost as if he wanted to start walking right back the way they came. Garfield had dropped them off at their two bedchambers. Each room was quite small. Despite that, the walls followed the purple theme and a smell hit Jason’s nose as he entered his designated room. At the nightstand there was a bowl filled with leaves that gave off a fresh, almost flowery scent.

Dick had followed Jason into his room after Garfield was out of sight.

Jason let out a frustrated sigh. “I get it, but what choice do we have? We’re in no shape to take on an entire squadron guarding the mountain path by ourselves. Even I’m not that stupid. Just give it a few days. First sign of enemies entering the village, we’ll leave. Alright?”.

Dick still seemed unconvinced; arms crossed while staring at Jason. “There could be other ways…” he started before Jason cut him off.

“For crying out loud, you were the one who insisted on this. Look, we don’t have any weapons nor supplies! What do you want us to do, fucking scale up the wall? Newsflash buddy: You’re still a limping, bloody mess.”.

Jason clutched his chest. It started to feel like something was quaking and rising within.

Dick shifted a bit. “Fine. But as soon as we’ve healed and gotten what we need, we’re outta here.”

“Agreed.”

Jason’s gaze fixated on the bowl of leaves and let his arm drop. Neither of them said anything else. Fuck. Why was he getting so riled about this? It wasn’t exactly the first time they’d had shitty odds stacked against them.

The doorknob creaked from being twisted before it stopped. Dick stood motionless.

“Think they’re okay?”

Jason must have misheard. A guy like Dick would never let his voice quiver like that. Not unless he was still exhausted.

“Who?”

“Damian and Bruce.”

“Dunno. Rest assured though; B is probably glued to that demon brat until this matter is resolved. You don’t get the jump on someone like him twice.”

Since Dick was still facing the door, Jason couldn’t tell his facial expression. All he heard was a quiet “Thank you.” before Dick was out of the door.

The quaking inside his chest was replaced with an odd fluttering sensation.

Perhaps the scent from the flowers was having a relaxing effect.

* * *

His bones and limbs were jittery so that meant bye-bye sleep. It was nonetheless still nice to lie down for a bit.

With a knock, Garfield came to get them later, prattling on about himself and what a good inn it was. He barely got to see Dick before they were separated. The evening shift was beginning in just about two hours and they still hadn’t been shown the ropes around here.

He was shoved into the kitchen together with Garfield. Dick had been instructed to go out in the tavern. Kory must’ve spared no expense, as the kitchen was stacked with fancy kitchenware and ingredients. Garfield’s fellow cooks barely paid him any mind, already busy preparing for the evening.

For Jason, the night went without a hitch. Dick reported the same just before they went to bed. They’d made him stand behind the bar along with Kory, feeling compassionate and not wanting him to limp back and forth while waiting tables.

Kory acknowledged that she was pleased with their efforts and that they now had her blessing to stay for a while longer.

He kept getting odd bursts of discomfort in his chest from time to time. He tried putting a name to the weird sensation. It was as if something was pulsating and sometimes clawing from inside. His mind briefly went back to the conversation he and Dick had when they just woke up after the fall, the part about his eyes. He tried to physically examine his chest but there were no outwards signs of any damage. Perhaps some of the magical energy that hit him remained and his body was getting it out of his system. Kind of like eating too much and it takes much longer for it to digest.

The next two days passed much like their first. They could work a bit more during the day and Dick was soon buddy-buddy with pretty much the entire crew.

During breaks, Jason would often glimpse him playing cards with some of them. Sleep and time to heal seemed to have done wonders, as Dick’s limping was almost gone by the fourth day. He complained that his body ached and he was still bruised but all in all, he was getting better quickly. A few more days and they might actually be fit for fight again. Jason tried to push away the thought of the weird pangs in his chest, which were happening more often now.

By the fifth day. Kory deemed it alright for Dick to start serving customers out on the floor. The patrons were as easily charmed as the staff, though several seemed to be taken aback by his injuries at first.

In his case, most of the other cooks and staff kept their distance, just the way he liked it. Garfield sometimes tried to converse with him and circled him like a puppy. However, he was discouraged by Jason’s curt replies or grunts. At times he even simply walked away from the kid. You could almost see the figurative ears slope on Garfield’s head as the excited puppy-look turned sour.

Good. They weren’t here to make friends, it would just complicate things.

He and Dick rarely found time to be alone together. It was pretty much only in the evening, just before going to bed, when they gave each other daily reports. Even while reporting to each other, they were careful to never use their real names in case someone managed to listen in.

While they were talking, he could tell that Dick was antsy. It was as if his easygoing persona melted away at the end of the day and left was only a weary, tense soldier. The sound of Dick’s feet pacing back and forth on the wooden floorboards always grated his ears, almost making him grab him and force him to sit down.

It was obvious how urgently Dick wanted to get back to Gotham.

They just weren’t ready yet.

* * *

On the night of the sixth evening, the pangs in his chest occurred far too often. Eventually it was just too much. He had to excuse himself to his bed chamber to catch his breath. There he laid on the bed while his nostrils were feeling more irritated than usual at the flowery scent emanating from the bowl with leaves. His chest was pulsating vibrantly. Before he could help it, his hand was clutching his chest and he let out a deep breath.

“Are you okay?”.

Dick must’ve seen him leave and followed suit. The door creaked as he stepped into the room, closing it behind him. When Jason glanced at him, Dick had his fully charged frowny-face going on.

“Yeah, yeah, just a bit tired.”

“You look more than just tired. What’s going on?”

To hell with his family and their stupid persistent behavior. Why did they always have to pry?

“Nothing. Are we done for today? ‘Cause I’d like to catch a few Z’s before I get back out there.”

Dick, the stubborn bastard, just stood rooted in place. His eyes were roaming Jason’s body, analyzing him intensely. It just added to his frustration. Dick’s eyes finally settled on his chest, where his hand was still firmly clutched.

Dick took a step closer to the bed and lowered his voice. “Are you hurting? Is this because of, you know... Have there been any…more after-effects so to speak?”. Dick dragged each syllable out, gauging his reactions.

He bit his lip, jaw tightening at the last part. Which Dick definitely must’ve picked up on. No way he was bullshitting his way out of this.

Still, he didn’t feel like talking about it.

“Okay, I take it you’re feeling _something_ then. What do you want to do? How do we figure this thing out? Magical encyclopedias?”

“What the hell? And where would we even begin to look for _that_?”

“Kory’s room was filled with books. Maybe she has something that could be of interest.”

Wait, what?

“Kory’s room? When the fuck did you go there?”

“Just the other day. She wanted to take me aside and asked me if they were demanding too much of me and if I needed more time to rest. She wanted to make sure I wasn’t feeling pressured. I told her it was fine and she let me start waiting tables.”

Jason felt his blood rushing. His cheeks were heating up. “And you didn’t brief me about this because?”

“Because it’s not important? Look, if this is some weirdo voodoo-thingy going on, we should probably start looking it up somehow. What if it’s a curse that’s slowly draining away your life? Or something worse? When they shot that at Bruce, it was probably not with the intent of doing something nice.”.

Dick crossed his arms, fixing him with a glare.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He groaned both in frustration and pain. “I thought it was just my body working through the energy left from the beam. It might still be. Besides, weren’t you the one who supposedly saw my eyes turning green and shit?”.

“You’d just been hit, I thought it was a temporary after-effect. It’s almost been a week, that’s not normal. You should have told me!”

It shook him a bit when Dick raised his voice. Dick took the last step and put one knee on the bed while leaning over Jason. The bed dipped and squeaked a bit at the strain of the added weight. A breath touched his face. Dick bent his head down and tried to get a look at his chest. One of his hands started reaching out to start unbuttoning Jason’s shirt, but he flicked it away as soon as the hand closed in.

“Goddammit, just let me look.”

“Fuck you, you insistent jackass. Don’t you think I’ve already looked myself? Stop playing nurse.”

“Don’t be unreasonable. Just let me have a look!”

They struggled. Dick nearly ripped his shirt clean off if Jason hadn’t managed to grab both his hands and flip them over. Dick rewarded that with a knee to his side.

“ _Ow_! For fuck sake! Stop!”

Jason’s pause allowed Dick to slip one of his hands out Jason’s grip. He sneaked his hand under his shirt.

When Dick’s hand made contact with his chest, he inhaled sharply.

“…that’s definitely not just a throbbing heartbeat. It’s too uneven and warm…is it… vibrating?”.

Dick looked shocked and slowly removed his hand. He shuffled away from Dick and stood up.

Fuck it.

He opened the shirt and Dick gasped. His chest was faintly glowing green through the hue of his skin. Both were stunned into silence.

Dick eventually broke it by asking in a shaky voice “Okay, so definitely not normal. How long has this been going on?”

“The glowy chest-thing? As of tonight. This… _thing_ in general has been going on since I was hit by that beam. It keeps...”. Shit. He let go of the shirt, instead reaching up and combing his hand through his hair. He just couldn’t look at Dick while saying it.

“…it’s not getting better.”.

His heart sunk. It hadn’t occurred to him before now. What if the magic energy inside him was not something that would evaporate? Maybe it would be expelled some other way? What if… he was some kind of bomb waiting to explode?

Dick spoke but he tuned it out. It wasn’t until Dick had stood up and forcibly grabbed at the side of his arms that could focus on his words.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out. Let’s start by hitting Kory’s library. Or we could just head back to Gotham right now. _He’ll_ probably know what to do.”

Dick moved one of his hands down to Jason’s wrist and tugged at it, trying to drag him along out of the room. But he came to a halt as Jason stood still.

He’d made his decision.

“I’m not going back to Gotham. Not like this.”

Dick just stared at him blankly, hand still coiled around Jason’s wrist.

“What do you mean?”

“You should stay here for a bit longer. Once you’re better, you could infiltrate a trade caravan and get back to Gotham. Or if you’re physically up to it, try scaling lower parts of the wall.”

Dick’s grip tightened.

“I’m _not_ leaving you here. We’re in this together. We’re going back to Gotham, _together_. To our family, remember?”.

He seemed too angry to even recall being discreet with his wording. As did Jason. The vibrating sensation was spreading through him, up the insides of his throat, making his breath come out ragged and shallow. His entire body felt like it was on fire, heat spreading all from his face down to his toes.

“Fuck family. I’m not going back and that’s it. You wanna try forcing me?”

Jason moved closer, looming over Dick, trying to look as threatening as possible. Dick didn’t even flinch at first but then he suddenly gawked at him, eyes growing wide.

“Oh crap, your eyes...! They're doing that thing again!”

Unlike last time, Jason didn’t feel like giving a flying fuck. He was too far gone anyways.

“What’ll it be, Dick? Wanna have at it? Go. Home.”, Jason practically growled in his face.

It took Dick a moment to regain his cool. When he did, he stared up at Jason with determination.

“We’ll solve this, whatever _this_ is exactly. We just need to stick together, okay?”.

Okay. So Dick wasn’t going to budge. He’d anticipated this. Time for Plan B.

“Fine, asshat. But in that case, we leave tomorrow at noon and not a second later. Make sure you’re ready to leave then.”

As if.

He was going to be gone by dawn. He was tempted to leave right away, with this potential bomb ticking inside him. How long until the fuse was blown? Dick would be fine, he had allies here. Given time, he would be able to get out on his own. He didn’t need Jason for that.

Dick nodded, still concerned but seemingly pacified. “Okay. Let’s do that.”

* * *

Several curious glances were shot their way as they got back to work.

Dick looked as careless and happy as ever. Jason still felt like he was boiling.

The hours felt like an eternity as they crept by until he could finally return to his bed chamber. It had been exhausting to keep his cool. He kept wanting to clutch at his chest but then people’d know something was off. Thankfully the green glow didn’t go through his clothing.

He knocked on Dick’s door to say goodnight. Even though he was fuming and knew it was smarter to take off immediately, he still wanted a chance to see Dick before he left. It might after all be for the last time.

He tried knocking several times, each time louder. There was no response.

Pissed off, he simply slammed the door open.

The room was empty.

He heard a creaking noise and Garfield popped out his head from his bed chamber.

“What’s up? It’s way past bedtime.”

“I’m looking for Robin. Did you see him anywhere?”.

“No, I haven’t seen him since my shift ended. Why?”

Jason’s stomach knotted. Something didn’t feel right. Even if he was out running an errand, Dick would have let him know.

Garfield followed him to Kory’s suite down the hallway. She opened the door at the third knock, leaning on the door.

“How can I help, boys?”

“Sorry to disturb you but we’re looking for Robin. Have you seen him?”

“I saw him about fifteen minutes ago. He was refilling the water at the stables. Why? Is there a problem?”

Her eyes grew sharp, slightly scrunching her nose, as if she could smell trouble in the air.

Jason didn’t care if their gig was up. He just abruptly turned on his feet and _ran_.


	3. The Mercenary

This was bad.

The whole evening he’d felt that something was off. Not just about Jason and the curious glances from their co-workers.

That’s when he finally saw _him_.

It was hidden quite well under the tunic but it was definitely the insignia of a Metropolitan soldier.

Dick hadn’t noticed it until he served the neighboring table. He’d glanced at the man and the man had stared back at him.

Crap. He never thought they’d be clever enough to disguise themselves. They probably knew that as soon as the potential fugitives from Gotham got a whiff of them being in town, they’d make their escape.

The gig was up. He and Jason didn’t have time to escape tomorrow at noon. They’d have to make their escape as soon as the shop closes. If the man remained at the inn, the other guards should still be unaware.

They still had time, right?

He kept up appearances, casually continuing to work. But out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the man had zeroed in on him. The unusual array of cuts and bruises must’ve marked him as a definite person of interest.

The guard kept sipping his beverage until closing time, not once leaving his table.

Once the man was ushered out by Kory along with the other patrons who had remained, Dick turned heel and almost started running toward the staff quarters, to Jason.

He didn’t get far before his arm was grabbed.

“Nuh-uh, it’s your turn on horse-duty sir”.

Donna had grabbed his elbow with one hand. In her other hand were two buckets filled with water. It was impressive how effortless she made it look considering how heavy they must be.

“Alright, you got me. I’ll go.” He smiled back at her, but a prickling feeling still crawled through his skin.

He headed outside toward the small stable behind the inn. It was dark except for the lanterns spread few and far between.

He didn’t even make it halfway before the low sound of footsteps were heard, far too close. 

When he turned around, three men approached, illuminated by the nearest street light. Two of them had their hands on their sheathed swords. They looked like ordinary villagers. As they confidently strode close, he could distinguish the third man’s face.

It was the guard from the bar.

“Can I help you, fellas?”

“You could. Tell us where your partner is at.”

Okey-dokie. No more pretense then. He put the buckets down and clenched his fists.

“Or what?”, he challenged.

The man ran his hand over his bald scalp.

“Or we take you down right where you stand, Gothamite scum. Then we raid that inn upside down, search every itsy bitsy corner and interrogate every staff member. We’ll make them squeal until your little friend is found. They’ll cooperate unless they want to be tried for treason. But wouldn’t it be much nicer to do this the civil way, nice and quietly?”

The man was leering at him. He’d dealt with his kind before, the ones that enjoyed making others squirm and grovel.

Too bad for him. He would find a baby hedgehog more frightening than these three.

“So you can drag us out in the woods and gut us? Flattered but no thanks.”.

The man seemed disgustingly pleased with his response, grinning even wider.

“So be it. Grab him, boys.”

The men approached him menacingly, unsheathing their swords.

He was ready to pounce when there was a sudden gurgling noise. The bald guard’s eyes went wide. Blood dribbled out of his mouth. He looked too shocked to scream and just let out one last gurgle and deep exhale. The blade that pierced his chest caused a red spot to bloom and quickly soak through his clothes.

Both he and the two other guards paused, simply staring in awe as the blade was withdrawn and the bald man’s body slumped to the ground.

He was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this was all a bad dream. Perhaps he was still deeply asleep, safe and sound, in Gotham and all the freaky events up until now were just the result of his vivid imagination.

Not standing here, face to face with _Slade Wilson_. On Metropolitan territory to boot.

He resisted the urge to rub his eyes as if looking at a ghost.

The two guards regained their composure and immediately changed their target to Slade. They lunged, trying to attack simultaneously from two sides.

What happened next became a blur. Slade dodged the attack of the one to the left and parried the other with his sword. He brought out his second sword and stabbed it through the eye of the guard he’d just parried. It was at this moment the other guard decided to try his luck. Slade swiftly spun around and used his free sword to parry again. He pulled out the other blade from the eye socket of the now dead guard and slashed it across the guard’s lower torso. Blood splashed the ground as it started pouring out.

The guard dropped his sword and went down on his knees. His hands were scrambling over his stomach as if trying to hold in his insides. A blade pierced the guard's shoulder, keeping him in place. Then another whirl of a blade was heard and the head was separated from the body and rolled onto the ground.

Efficient but bloody. As always. It made him sick and he instinctively took a step back as predator zeroed in on prey.

Slade didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. He just swiped his blades to his sides, flinging off some of the blood. Then he started walking towards him slowly.

“Long time no see. Grayson.”.

Oh gods. It was the same low-pitched voice Dick remembered from years before. The one that could say “unicorn” and it would still instill respect in those spoken to.

He resisted the urge to take another step back. “Uh, hi. What brings you around these parts?”.

Slade stopped his slow stride when he was almost within reaching distance. He sheathed both of his blades at his back like a cross. “Could ask you the same question. Last I heard you were cooped up in Wayne's fortress.”.

Okay, so maybe this would end with just talking.

“Well, you know me. Not a big fan of being stuck in the same place so I decided to do some exploring. Broaden my horizons and see the world a bit, so to speak”.

He held out his arms casually, urging his body to relax but to no avail.

Slade stared at him impassively. “So your take on exploring is tumbling down a cliff into enemy territory and scrambling around like a headless chicken.”

He gaped. “How'd you know about that?”. That’s when it hit him. “Oh crap. Please tell me you don't have a contract on us.”.

The grin on Slade’s face was excruciatingly smug.

“You think we'd be standing here talking if I did? They've been putting up roadblocks all over the place, with added patrols. Apparently, two of Wayne's boys have somehow stumbled onto Metropolitan territory after a skirmish atop Mount Evergreen. The reward of capturing them alive is higher but killing has also been approved. One is described as a male with a robust build with a strand of silver in his hair. The other was described as lean, raven hair and with a preference for wielding escrima sticks instead of swords. I've only met one person during my entire career with such a _ridiculous_ preference.”

Dick scoffed. He couldn't help the offended look that crept onto his face, his arms almost crossing themselves on pure instinct.

It also served as a reminder of his unarmed state against a fully armed Slade.

“They're not dumb, you've witnessed first-hand what I can do with those. But seriously Slade, why are you here?”. He tried to mask the desperation in his voice but he really needed to know. His best option was either to attempt running away but for some reason he was stalling.

Slade didn't say anything at first, just kept his shark-like blue eye fixated on Dick. He didn't even so much as blink.

“I'm going to make you the same offer as these _gentlemen_.”. He kicked the foot belonging to one of the deceased guards. “You either come with me quietly, or we do this the hard way.”.

So, it was going to be a repeat of before. Except this time the opponent wasn't something akin to a baby hedgehog.

That didn't stop Dick from clenching his fists and tense up.

“And my reply remains the same: I'm _not_ letting you take us. Not without a fight.”

Slade sighed.

“The other boy isn't my concern. He doesn't need to be a part of this. That is if you decide to behave for _once_. “. Slade paused, looking Dick up and down as if to emphasize his current shitty circumstances. “This isn't going to end like last time. You know it.”

He was right. Their previous partnership hadn't ended on the best of terms. Even while in full gear and top-notch condition, he had barely kept up with Slade. The lingering scar from one of Slade’s blades on the right side of his torso could attest to this. Their fight had never about winning over Slade but merely escaping him without losing limbs and getting back to Gotham.

Okay, so he didn't know what Slade wanted with him but perhaps this was the best way of protecting Jason. They wouldn't be able to take on Slade in their current condition even if both of them teamed up -

Slade didn't let Dick finish his thoughts, tired of remaining idle. The distance between them was closed in less than a second.

* * *

When he exited the inn, there was no sign of Dick in the dimly lit street. The vibrations inside his chest were starting to feel like they were fists pounding from inside. Refilling the water for the horses was not something that'd take twenty minutes.

Suddenly he heard a whistle coming from the alleyway next to the inn. A horse trotted into view and continued down the street into the alleyway.

He burst out in a sprint, trying reach the same spot as quickly as he could. Just as he reached the corner, the horse once again came into view. This time there was a rider holding the reins. And slumped in front of that rider was an unconscious Dick.

It all went by so fast.

His eyes made contact with the one-eyed and whitehaired man holding Dick before they whirled past him. He wildly started to search his surroundings. He quickly got a glimpse of three bodies lying in the alleyway but barely registered it.

He had to give chase now, or he'd lose them.

He ran down the street and watched with dread as they got further away. His chest felt like it was about to burst as if some kind of creature was going to claw its way out of it. But he had to keep going.

Fortune smiled upon him as Dick's kidnapper almost collided with an incoming horse carriage. It could be someone on their way home from another tavern or an outsider passing through. Jason didn't care. The horse belonging to Dick's kidnapper bucked a little before the rider regained control and got the horse to ride around the carriage.

That pause gave Jason enough time to nearly catch up to them. He started to unbuckle the straps tied to the horse leading the carriage, almost ripping it apart. The carriage horseman protested loudly and was getting down to stop him. He only briefly paused his unbuckling to punch the man hard enough to send him sprawling onto the ground. Finally, all that was left were the reins.

The odds were finally more even as he mounted the horse and gave chase.

Dick's kidnapper had almost reached the edge of the village and was about to enter a forest path into the woods. He’d gained on them but once outside the village, it got darker, with the moon serving as the only source of light.

The hooves thundered. He wasn't going to let them get away. Dick's kidnapper must've begun to realize this as well, as he suddenly slowed just a little bit. Thanks to the slivers of moonlight through the trees, Jason could discern how other man turned his torso and flung something in his direction. The object turned out to be a small throwing knife, not just one but _three_ flew at him in quick succession.

The next couple of knives were thrown at his horse, who he barely managed to steer sideways. When no more knives came whirling, he figured he must be out or only have a few left.

Dick was almost within reach now.

As they entered a moonlit meadow, the horse in front of him slowed down and started trotting, eventually coming to a full stop. Jason halted his horse as well. The man grabbed onto Dick and slid off the horse onto the ground. Dick was still completely out of it, hands tied together with rope at the front. Jason barely got the chance to observe if Dick had sustained any injuries before the man rearranged his grip and slung Dick over his shoulder. His other hand moved to rest on a dagger at his thigh, his one eye boring a hole through Jason who had dismounted as well.

They started moving like alley cats, circling each other. His chest and lungs were burning but he couldn't care less. He was going to rip this one-eyed bastard apart.

“Who the fuck are you?”, he spat out.

“None of your concern. Now, I'd ask you nicely to step away but considering your persistent pursuit so far, I'd wager that's not an option.”

Thanks to the meadow and open sky, he could see the man more clearly now. He had a black eyepatch covering his right eye. The white, short hair made him look almost ethereal when contrasted with the moonlight. 

The man paused his circling motions by leaning down to drop Dick onto the ground.

Jason lunged.

The man had to let Dick fall halfway to the ground but he was already on him. They tumbled into the grass. He straddled him and furiously rained down punches to the man's face. The man managed to block some of them but not all and Jason drew first blood.

Unfortunately, there was another sudden pang of pain rippling through his chest. Then another. He couldn't help but clutch and claw at his chest. The man wasted no time utilizing this opening. He pulled out the dagger equipped on his thigh and stabbed at him. Jason tried to roll off before the knife reached him but the man still managed to pierce his arm.

“Motherfuck-!” Jason let out in a mixed sound of a hiss and shout. He got away and stood up, as did his opponent. Who had now discarded the dagger in favor of the two blades at his back.

Oh shit.

Panic began to swell when the sound of the blades pulling out of their sheaths hit his ears. He could barely stand now. They'd hardly even fought. His chest quaked, tremors pulsating through it non-stop. His entire body was shaking and throbbing. His hands were slick with sweat as he clenched them.

Then Dick let out a groan, stirring awake. This was bad. If he went nuclear here, he'd be taking Dick with him. But if he didn't stay, god knows what this fucker was going to with Dick.

Either way, there was nothing he could do anymore. He didn't even have the capability of moving anymore, slumping to his knees helplessly.

The man observed him curiously, not making a move.

He was wheezing and clawing at his chest, squinting as he saw a green glow emanating in the air in front of him.

“Jason?”, he heard Dick croak out hoarsely. “Ow, goddammit, my head...you bastard, Slade! Hey Ja-”.

Dick was slowly sitting up when he saw Jason, who had now doubled over and leaned his forehead on the ground.

“Jason, are you okay? Slade, what did you do to him?!”. Dick dragged himself to his side and sat down beside him. His hands were still tied but Dick's hand still managed to tug at his arm.

“Jason, talk to me! What's going on? There's green stuff pouring out of you!”.

The words sounded muddy to Jason's ears as if he was underwater.

He still couldn't pull himself up from the ground and gritted his teeth so hard he thought they'd crack. Instead, his teeth felt unusually sharp and there was a taste of iron in his mouth. He was about to lift his head off of the ground and try to respond to Dick.

Then he heard Dick yelp. Jason whirled his head up and saw the man hold onto Dick's neck and drag him away from Jason.

“No, stop Slade! Let go! We have to help him!”. Dick was panicking, kicking furiously and trying to claw at the hand on his neck with his tied-up hands.

“This is Pit Magic. There's no helping that.”.

Jason ceased breathing.

All he could feel passing through his lungs were fumes. The only thing clear was the image before him: Dick dragged off by the whitehaired bastard.

The skin at his arms and chest was crawling and peeling off, as something else took its place. The bones inside his arms and torso cracked and expanded into something more robust. In his hands it was as if something was pulling a piece of metal through his fingers, making his nails pop out and replacing them with something longer and sharper. He pulled at his chest, ripping at his shirt.

Yet there was no pain. It felt...natural. Green steam was pouring out of his pores as he rose to his feet.

The man had stopped dragging Dick along and Dick was gaping in shock. The horses that had lingered nearby reeled back, whinnying loudly, and sprinted off into the woods.

The previous exhaustion was gone from his body. In fact, strength surged through him. As if he could really rip this man into literal pieces with his bare hands. There was no longer any lingering sensation of throbbing at the open wound on his arm where the man had stabbed him.

Oh yes. That man, _Slade,_ was dead meat now.

Slade let go of Dick and stepped in front of him. He threw a knife at Jason and drew his other sword in quick succession.

Jason instinctively raised his arm to block the incoming projectile. The knife bounced off like a rubber ball. Holy shit. His own arm that had blocked the attack, was covered in what could only be described as _scales_. They had a deep, ruby red color. And his fingers had freaking _claws_!

His brain must’ve pushed it aside because he just couldn't be bothered to give a damn anymore. Everything was foggy, beside the intense impulse to slash, maim and utterly destroy this creature in front of him.

He launched himself at Slade.

Slade parried his punch with one of the blades and tried cutting off the stretched-out arm, only for the blade to lightly penetrate the scaly surface and get stuck. Slade abandoned the blade and jumped backward. But he was not letting the man get any space. He pulled the sword out of his limb with one swift pull, casting it aside, and then launched himself at Slade once more. He let out a flurry of blows with his claws that were either parried or dodged by the man.

It was almost like a dance.

Slade got in a few slashes at Jason's non-scaly areas but he could barely feel them. Finally, one of his claws came into contact, managing to rip through the light armor and skin on Slade's torso. Slade hissed. He did a stabbing motion toward his exposed neck, forcing him to take a step back. In an instant, Slade used this opportunity to roll around him and jump him from behind. It was only thanks to his ingrained reflexes that his hand flew up in time, grabbing the incoming blade about to embed itself in his neck and held it still.

It didn’t stop Slade. He got his free arm around his neck. First, Slade tried choking him but then started positioning himself as if he was going to attempt breaking his neck instead.

Nuh-uh.

Jason got a grip on Slade's shoulder and threw him over his own head onto the ground in front. Slade seemed to have underestimated his physical strength.

He began returning the favor and started choking Slade with a hold on the throat.

Vaguely, his senses picked up Dick crying out for him to stop. However, there was no room for hesitation.

He gripped as tightly as he could, putting pressure on it, and _snapped_. There was a loud crack, followed by Slade’s body becoming limp, save a couple of final spasms.

But fury was still coursing through him. It wasn't _enough_. He embedded his claws in Slade’s chest and tore it apart, wanting to crack his chest open and see his insides so he could squash each organ with his bare hands.

“...-ason, no!”

Someone grabbed him from behind, a pair of hands holding his face and angling it upwards. Suddenly, he was peering up into Dick's distressed face, his eyes wide and face scrunched up with worry. He must’ve finally gotten free of his bindings.

“Please Jason.... _stop._ ” Dick's thumbs were rubbing circles on his face. Man, his eyes were so blue. The kind you got lost in, like a pretty gem.

He leaned back from where he was sitting and sucked in a deep breath. Inhale. Then exhale. Then inhaling again. Exhale, inhale. The furious boil in his body simmered down into a smolder. His muscles relaxed and he loosened the grip on the lifeless body underneath, just focusing everything on sinking into those blue orbs that watched him carefully.

“Now, what happens when you tell an egg a joke?”

Whatever distracting spell Dick had cast on him, it was instantly broken.

Dick grinned. “It cracks up!”.

“Okay yeah thanks, I'm good. No need to torture me further.”.

Dick let go of him, stepping back. After clambering to his knees and standing up, he cast a glance at the gruesome scene where Slade's body was laying. He looked at his clawed hands, holding them up in front of him, clenching and unclenching them.

Holy fucking smokes. This was really happening.

He turned and faced Dick, who was still looking at him in awe.

“Um, so... I don't want you to panic but I think you...how do I put this...whatever that weird magic was...I think it may have turned you into a, uh, lizardman. Sort of.”.

Dick had the balls to pat his shoulder at that. As if it was no biggie.

“Thanks, might've missed it otherwise. Like when my skin turned inside out into freaking scales or when suddenly clawing people to death became an option.”

Dick winced at that.

He nearly jumped, tensing up immediately, when he heard a cough coming from behind.

He whipped around and watched with horror as the open, gory wound on Slade's chest was closing, the skin stitching itself together.

“What the fuck?!”.

“Yeah, unfair isn't it?”. Dick said as if the horrifying scene before them was _normal_. “He's kind of not fully human either”.

Slade slowly stood up, brushing the dust off of his pants.

“Fuck your 'kind of'! What the shitfuck is this?!”. His voice was shrill but seriously, there was no way his brain could process this.

Slade just looked amused. “My physiology allows me certain unusual regenerative abilities.”.

Jason rubbed his face and accidentally cut his cheek with his claw. Goddammit. This was too much for one day.

“At least you don't seem to be dying anymore?”, Dick added cheerfully.

* * *

This wasn’t good.

Jason was clearly getting ready for a round two. He had to stop this before Jason went into another rampage.

The good news was that it seemed as if Slade had lost interest in fighting, at least for now. He was just picking up his scattered weapons, sheathing them and brushing off grime and blood as best he could off of his armor.

Jason didn’t seem to buy his nonchalant behavior for a second, which was wise. Slade was probably plotting his next move now that his opponent had turned out to tougher than he'd imagined.

It was a weird sight to behold. Jason's eyes had stopped glowing and his body was no longer emanating green steam. He looked less rejuvenated than before when he'd gone berserk on Slade. However, the scaly skin on the upper part of his torso and arms had remained. 

An awkward moment of silence ensued, Slade and Jason simply glaring holes into each other.

He was about to speak up when Jason angrily uttered “I'm only going to say this once: get the hell out of our faces. Or else I'm going to rip your chest open as many times as it takes for the message to get through your skull.”

Slade cocked his head, seemingly not intimidated in the least. “Grayson and I have unfinished business.”.

Jason looked pissed and ready to lunge at Slade again.

Before he could think, he cleared his throat loudly. Both of them turned their gazes toward him. Oh crap. He’d have to tickle every diplomatic bone in his body to solve this mess.

Alright, here goes nothing.

“Look, I think we all know that any further fighting is just going to waste unnecessary energy and possibly limbs.”. He turned to Slade. “Slade, whatever this is, can't it _wait_? I'll come find you once things are sorted out with Jason and whoever tried to kidnap Damian. You have my word.”.

“The hell you are!”, Jason almost shouted. “Dick, who is this goddamn bastard?”.

He rubbed his face. Dammit. It was a piece of his history he'd rather forget but guess there was no use in hiding it anymore. 

“Well, you know that expedition years back that Bruce sent me on? To Toran?”.

There was no recognition on Jason’s face at the mention.

“He asked me to aid the militia there. In return for their allegiance, they needed his help in overthrowing the king. Bruce had to hold down the fort in Gotham with everything going on there in the war with Metropolis. However, it turned out there were more than just common soldiers and the royal kingsguard at the king’s disposal. They were aided by Metropolitan forces. The fighting turned out tougher than anticipated. I couldn't manage to turn the tides on my own.”.

It was painful to admit but what the hell. He’d already told Bruce about it.

“So we enlisted some help, someone who wouldn't back down from even something as suicidal as sneaking into the king's palace. _This_ is that particular help.”.

Dick gestured at Slade.

“His name’s Slade Wilson and he’s a mercenary. I used Bruce's money to establish a partnership. We worked together for about a year.”.

He paused, looking to Slade, who remained silent. When he looked over to Jason, it still seemed like he was boiling on the inside, impatient with lips pursed into a thin line.

“We…had some differences in how we approached things.”.

To put it lightly.

At the next part, he glared daggers at Slade. “It turned out that Slade was acting as a double agent, hired by Luthor himself. So naturally, things turned sour and we fought. Last time I saw him was as I escaped with my men on a boat heading back to Gotham. He's the reason I had to keep still in bed for two months to heal. Thanks for that, by the way.”.

The corner of Slade's lips twitched at that as if he wanted to grin. But he kept his impassive look while observing him.

“Now, I honestly don't know why he's here. Want to share with the class, Slade? What's this about? And can it _please_ wait?”.

Slade turned his eyes toward Jason. “It's none of that Pit Monster's concern”.

Jason snarled and started moving toward Slade. He had to step in between, putting one hand on Jason's chest and the other on his arm.

“Jason, stop.”.

Then he whipped around toward Slade. “What do you mean 'Pit Monster'? You mentioned something before about Pit Magic. Do you know something about this?”. He gestured at Jason.

Now there was a wry smile on Slade’s lips. “What if I do?”

Crap. Of all people…

Jason had kept quiet but finally seemed to be fed up with the situation.

“It doesn't matter!”.

He pulled Dick to the side roughly by the arm, lowering his voice to a murmur even though Slade could probably hear every syllable.

“That’s it. You’re going back to Gotham. I'll deal with this, whatever this thing is.”.

He glanced at Slade. “I'll help you get back first, okay? Just...Don't be stupid. Don't try to bargain with this psycho.”.

Now it was Dick's turn to get pissed.

“This _again_? Jason, for the last time, I'm not leaving you. We still don't know what the magic’s done to you. It could be turning you into an animal or worse, it could still be slowly killing you. They didn’t aim that spell at Bruce just to give him a makeover.”. 

He tried to wrench his arm free but Jason held on tight, careful not to dig in his claws, but still tightening his grip and getting closer.

“Exactly Dickwad, we don't know what this magic is. I might spontaneously combust. Hell, if I turn into a rabid animal, who do you think I'll go for first?”.

Jason scoffed angrily.

“Fuck, you have less sense of self-preservation than a puppy. Get this through your head: I don't need your supposed 'help', alright? Having to watch out for your ass is just going to slow me down. So do me a favor and just fuck off.”

His cheeks heated up instantly and he flexed his fist. Jason was strangely talented at making his blood boil.

“How about you get this through your thick skull instead: You're the one with rotten self-preservation and a goddamn death wish. So no, I'm not gonna ‘fuck off’ you dumbass.”.

They glared at each other, neither of them budging.

A rumbling voice cut through the air. “Mind if I make a suggestion?”

Both men whipped their heads in Slade’s direction, breaking off their glaring competition.

“Let's resume these negotiations tomorrow. For now, we need to get further away from the village. When those bodies are discovered, they’ll start searching the area. Now, I don't particularly mind slicing up any patrols or local guards they send after us but it’s unnecessary trouble. So let’s set up camp and then you ladies can brawl it out later.”.

Slade started walking away before either of them could reply. He produced a small lightstone from his pocket that provided dim, white light. 

“Who the hell would go with you, you bastard?”, Jason called out.

He managed to wrench his hand free while Jason was distracted, immediately stomping after Slade.

“Hey, what are you doing?”, Jason protested from behind.

“He has a point. Also, this is the first lead we have regarding whatever's going on with you and those weird people that attacked us. So we're going after him, like it or not. “.

He didn't stop, even as Jason ran and caught up to him.

“He's obviously lying! He's just manipulating you since you’ve made it clear that’s what you want! Don’t be stupid!”.

He dismissed Jason with a shrug and kept on walking. “Regardless, we're going to hear him out. I can try interrogating him, if you’d rather keep your distance.”.

Now that he had walked a few steps ahead of Jason, it was difficult to discern his face in the dark when he turned his head towards him. Still, Jason seemed to have given in when they slowly trudged through the woods together, following Slade.

* * *

They didn’t walk too far before finding a nice hidden spot between a couple of big rocks, surrounded by thick bushes and trees with enough distance from nearby forest paths and roads. Slade advised against setting up a campfire, even if they dug a hole for it, as both the smoke and smell might give their location away. He instead dug a hole and put the dim lightstone at the center of the patch of grass they were sitting on.

Jason looked like an angry child when he sat down opposite Slade, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, and actually _pouted_. If he wasn’t so pissed at him, he might actually have found it cute.

Jason had suggested they sleep in shifts and kept close to one another. He offered to take the first shift.

He tried to lie down next to Jason but after hearing about two or three yawns and how Jason’s breathing turned slow and heavy, he shifted and looked up. Geez, it’d only been about five minutes. Then he saw Jason’s head hung low and his eyelids were shut.

The transformation and fight seemed to have taken a toll on him after all.

He sat up. No way he could go to sleep now that they were one man down, even though he could feel his body aching for it. It was embarrassing how easily Slade had outmaneuvered him, knocking him out. He’d boldly boasted about putting up a fight yet went down in a flash.

Slade was observing him on and off from he sat at the opposite side, simultaneously inspecting and caring for one of his blades. The bastard didn’t look tired at all, like he hadn’t just been _gutted_. Now that he’d managed to wash his face in one of the nearby streams, the only visible signs were the faded bloodstains on his clothes.

It was unsettling how little he’d changed since Dick last saw him. Same rough features. The white hair was still short and his facial hair trimmed and neat. Similar black eye-patch and gaze that froze you on the spot.

He fidgeted a bit before giving in.

“So now that we’re alone, feel like telling me what all this is about? What’s this ‘Pit’ thing you keep mentioning?”

Slade kept silent for a while before he stopped polishing his blade, facing Dick.

“It’s a well-known story. For generations there have been various versions about it.”.

Wait, he was actually going to oblige? Huh. How unexpected. 

“It’s a particularly popular myth here in the Metropolitan region. According to legend, it’s a place flowing with such powerful magic that you might even be able to raise the dead. The king who founded this country, back when Gotham and the Metropolis were one and the same, was said to have lost his wife in childbirth. The child was stillborn. Both the bodies were loaded onto a golden carriage and the king traversed the country in his desperate search for the Pit, only a few servants at his side. A few years later, the king returned to the castle. Not with his wife or servants but with a young girl. He told his eldest son, that had been ruling in his place, that he had not been able to retrieve his wife but that the Pit had still blessed them by instilling life back into his stillborn sister. He’d stayed until he was sure his baby girl was ready to leave the Pit and travel.”.

Dick wasn’t sure where this was going but kept listening. 

“The girl was rumored to have green, glowing inscriptions inscribed all over her body except for the face, where instead her eyes glowed green. Apparently, she could do extraordinary things. For example, lift large boulders despite her small size. The king was beside himself with joy. However, on her eighteenth birthday, she suddenly fell ill. The king hailed doctors from all over but her condition only worsened until she finally passed away.”.

Not the happy ending he was expecting from a tale like this. His stomach knotted. If it wasn’t a fairytale…

“That’s how the myth goes. During your encounter with the sorcerers responsible for your brother’s affliction, I suspect you saw some similar green, glowing inscriptions embedded on their weaponry?”.

Dick nodded eagerly.

“It’s real. That green energy is harnessed from The Pit. There’s not much known about the nature of that energy except that it seems to be volatile and dangerous for all who come in contact with it, including the users. That’s why they don’t put inscriptions or fill their bodies directly with that energy. Instead, it is placed on their weapons or other vessels. In that way, they can still channel the energy although to a lesser extent. The Pit itself is a real place. It’s led by a warlord named Ra’s Al Ghul. Luthor has been trying to locate it for years.”

Slade went silent again, much to his frustration.

“I did find it, however. I’ve seen it firsthand and the things that place is capable of. That’s also why I _know_ that things are not going to end well. He was hit directly, wasn’t he?”.

Slade’s eye wandered to Jason, lip slightly curled in disgust as if he could envision the end result already.

“This is probably just the beginning. A transformation like that requires a lot of energy.”

A chill went through him. His fingers dug into his own arms, enough to probably leave marks.

“So…does that mean that he’s dying?”. 

“It means that the energy is dangerous enough just to be around. I can only imagine what it would do if it’s inside a person, running amok.”.

“So if we extract it, Jason could be okay?”.

“That’s a lot of ‘if’. Firstly, you’d have to find someone with the right knowledge. There aren’t exactly a lot of people around specialized in Pit magic. Besides that, there’s also no guarantee that the extraction process itself will even be possible or harmless to the afflicted person.”.

“We better act quickly then.” He had underestimated the urgency of Jason’s situation. Damn him for not telling him about it sooner…

Slade hummed in agreement.

“Agreed. I’d wager it’d be easier to extract it the less he’s been exposed to and transformed by the energy.”.

A thick silence followed until he decided to finally ask “What happened to the king in the tale?”.

“The king tried to take her back to the Pit where she’d grown up but he never found it again. Even as he tried retracing his exact steps. It was as if it had vanished.”.

They both fell silent again. He shivered, wrecked with an unfamiliar sensation of overwhelming fear. He and his family had been in several perilous situations before but those hadn’t fazed him like this. Even while worrying about Damian and the people trying to kidnap him, Dick had been able to focus and rely on his abilities. Now his thoughts were scattered into a million pieces and he couldn’t make sense of it all. There were so many elements in this that were beyond his control.

The only power he had was hoping that it wasn’t too late.

Slade broke him out of his thoughts by uttering “I could take you there.”. Dick whipped his head up.

They locked eyes as Slade continued. “I know how to find it.”.

And cue the-

“For the right price, of course. You know that I don’t offer my services for free.”.

There it was. The catch.

“How do you know it’s going to be in the same place?”.

“It’s not the type of place where you need to know the precise location. The real crux is _how_ to get there.”.

This was playing right into Slade’s hands, wasn’t it? It was so frustrating. Momentarily, his hand went up and covered his face from view. Even when he shut his eyes, wracking his brains for an answer, there was nothing. They really had no other choice. Time was of the essence.

“What do you want then?”.

Slade beckoned him towards him with his finger.

Goddammit. Jason was probably right. This could be a ploy to make them desperate and compliant. But this was the only lifeline they had, it was too risky to give it up.

He defied the loud voice in his head that told him how stupid it was to approach the person who’d just been trying to kidnap you moments before.

Even Bruce’s voice was ringing in his ears, scolding him for being naïve.

If Slade had wanted them dead, he’d have killed them by now. In his current state, he would have been easy prey. Clearly, his goal was something else.

So instead of staying put like a rational person, he just let out a frustrated sigh and got up. Slade gestured for him to sit down beside him.

He barely managed to get his butt on the ground before Slade reached for him, pulling him close. The movement was sudden. However, Slade still gave him a moment to react.

When he didn’t put up any resistance, Slade pulled him even closer, leaning their heads together. Now this was familiar. The friction from his leather glove, holding him tightly while his thumbs caressing circles into his skin, his scent a mix between pine tree and iron. Slade hovered his lips inches away from his own. The blood was rushing in his ears, adrenaline shooting through him again, just like when they’d fought. Everything brought memories back to life from the times they’d been together. He flushed involuntarily, the heat spreading down to his groin. It took all he had to keep it from showing on his face.

They held still like that for a while, neither of them saying anything.

Slade eventually seemed to be leaning in even closer, as if he was about to kiss him. Then all of a sudden, he bent his head down to Dick’s neck, mouthing at it. His stubble tickled the skin. He just froze, unsure of what to do, nervously glancing at Jason’s sleeping form. Then Slade was kissing his neck and sucking it lightly, a teasing touch. Then harder.

“ _Slade._ ”, he hissed through his teeth, resisting the small moan stuck in his throat as Slade scandalized the sensitive flesh on his neck. He grabbed the hand holding onto his shoulder. This was wrong for so many reasons, especially with Jason just a few feet away.

Slade stopped. His hand slowly moved and grasped Dick’s chin, thumb brushing his lips before he tilted Dick’s face away to the side so he could lean in and whisper into his ear. 

It took a couple of seconds but eventually, he nodded. Slade kissed the side of his head, with curved, pleased lips pressed against it.


	4. The Guardian

It was a relief to wake up feeling refreshed. He’d been so pumped up by the burst of energy that accompanied his transformation yesterday. Yet after that, the energy had dwindled, leaving him utterly exhausted, _aching_ , until he passed out. 

A yawn escaped him while stretching out as his arms, his neck a bit stiff and made a cracking noise as he moved it from side to side.

Then it hit him like a bomb, that had exploded a shit ton of bricks into one big avalanche of debris, now raining down on his stupid head. Oh fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. _He’d fallen asleep._ With a psychotic murderer and kidnapper right next to them.

Pulled out of his sleeping daze, he frantically sat up, trying to locate Dick.

He found Dick’s sleeping form on the ground just next to him. He laid on his side, arm tucked under his head facing away from Jason. The chest was heaving with slow, heavy breaths. 

How the hell were they still alive?

No matter. His eyes flew around, determined to find the next target: _Slade_.

Who was nowhere to be seen. 

He nudged Dick with his foot. Dick just murmured something but didn’t seem to wake up. Maybe yesterday’s events had taken a toll on him as well.

Jason nudged again; a bit harder this time. He was about to change his nudge into a kick when Dick finally stirred. He rolled over and looked up bleary-eyed at Jason.

“Hey, whazzup?”, he croaked out hoarsely, stretching out his body and then lifting himself up by the elbows.

“Don’t ‘whazzup’ me. Both of us dumb shits just fell asleep with that _monster_ next to us.”.

He heard Dick mutter something inaudible, before sitting up properly, rustling the grass and leaves around him, some of it sticking to his hair. He rubbed his eyes, disturbingly undisturbed.

“You offered to take the first watch and then you fell asleep. Slade and I talked and he offered to keep watch instead.”

Oh, mother of all that is holy. Dick could be naïve, sure, but he wasn’t _stupid_. He pinched the bridge of his nose, which caused another small cut from his claws.

Great, he’d forgotten about them again.

“And you trusted him? For shit’s sake, he could’ve slit our throats while we slept. We need to _leave_. Quickly. Like we should’ve done yesterday.”. 

Dick rolled his eyes as if _he_ was being a pain in the ass. 

“As I said, we talked. Slade knows how to find the Pit and is willing to take us there. Killing us now would be counterproductive.”

Damn, he felt even more stupid for falling asleep and leaving Dick alone with this maniac. Slade must’ve gotten an ample amount of time to fill his head with all sorts of crazy bullshit. It was also weird how comfortable Dick was to hang out with the man that had tried to kidnap him only yesterday. It was as if Slade was an old friend that had pulled a simple prank on him and now they were laughing it off.

Jason crossed his arms and bit out “And he decided to do this _why_ exactly? Surely not out of the kindness of his heart.”.

Dick let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

“No. I just need to help him out with something once this is over with, all right? It’s no big deal, nothing serious. The priority right now is getting you to the Pit.”

It was his turn to let out his frustration, something between a deep sigh and a growl. He didn’t believe for a second that Slade’s request was something minor, even if he might’ve tricked Dick into believing that. Why resort to kidnapping then? 

“And what exactly is going to happen once we get there? We just walk in and ask those bitch-witches nicely to patch me up? What’s to say this asshole isn’t leading us into a trap?”

“Dammit, would you please stop fighting me on this. It’s _all_ we got,” Dick bit out. “There’s no other option, we don’t have time to wander around hoping to stumble upon another clue. We’re not exactly in friendly territory and you’ve already begun transforming. Let’s just…just roll with it, okay? We’ll handle whatever they throw at us. Slade included.”

Dick got closer and put his hand on Jason’s thigh.

“We’ve made it this far, right?”

He looked at him like a puppy wagging its tail, begging for a treat. So full of anticipation and hope.

Shit.

The spot on his thigh underneath Dick’s hand was getting jittery.

He was about to yield when he noticed something odd. On the side of Dick’s neck, there was a blue and purple bruise he didn’t recognize from yesterday. He didn’t see it before until Dick had gotten closer to him. It was clearly fresh and irritated. It wasn’t one of his faded leftover bruises from the fall, he’d have noticed it. 

Impulsively, he reached out and brushed it with his fingers, careful not to accidentally graze the skin with the claws. Dick looked shocked when he touched it and slapped his hand away from his neck. He put his own hand over it, rubbing it anxiously.

“What’s that? Did you hurt yourself yesterday?” Jason asked.

Dick looked unsure as he answered hesitantly while rubbing his neck “Um, I don’t know. Or yeah, it could be from the scuffle yesterday. I suppose.”

Something was off. His chest throbbed. Dick stood up quickly, breaking eye-contact but seemingly composed again.

“If you boys have finished snoozing, we should probably get moving soon.”.

If only his new powers could let him kill people with a glare. Alas, there Slade was tragically unharmed with a dead rabbit, looking every bit like the psychopath he was.

Jason rose to his feet, ignoring the man.

“I’m still not on board with him coming along. Why can’t you just have him give us directions and we’ll handle this by ourselves?”.

Dick stood up as well, about to reply when Slade spoke up.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re okay with it or not, boy. I’m coming with or the deal’s off the table.”

This morning was not off to a great start. He fixed Slade a glare and now they were caught in another glaring competition. The damn one-eyed ballsack looked unbearably smug as he had to bite back every horrendous curse word he could think of. Arrogant prick. It was intense, how badly he wanted to pummel him to the ground and carve him into minced meat again.

Dick touched his shoulder.

“It’s settled, alright? Let’s get going.”.

* * *

They ate their breakfast in an awkward silence before finally moving out.

The first step they’d agreed on was restocking on supplies and procuring horses for faster travel. Slade grudgingly lent Jason his cloak to hide his scaly arms and torso from curious bystanders. 

His nerves were fried. Not only because of Slade’s presence but also because of the intermittent pulsating sensation within his chest that just wouldn’t go away. The ruby-red scales felt alien on his body. He tried scratching the scales on his left arm as they walked but it didn’t even leave a mark. Instead, it made a terrible scraping noise that made his teeth chatter.

Dick tried making idle talk but seemed to eventually give up when all he could grant him were disinterested grunts in his distracted state. He immediately regretted it when Dick instead walked up to Slade in front of them. They started talking about their shared encounters while in Toran, ranging from bandits and their skirmishes with the royal guard and what each had been up to ever since. Dick was leading the conversation but Slade was more responsive than Jason had been.

He hoped that Dick was only keeping up appearances while trying to pump Slade for information.

However, his heart sank when Dick seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their conversation, waving his arms around and eyes gleaming like an idiot.

It made him want to puke. Why the hell was he being so buddy-buddy with the man who had not only betrayed him but also maimed him so bad he was bedridden for two months the last time they saw each other? The man who had literally attempted to kidnap him a day ago. Enough that Dick was the forgiving type but this seemed like a stretch.

When Slade plucked a leftover leaf out of Dick’s hair and Dick smiled at him, the cup was just about to run over.

Thankfully, Slade stopped in his tracks suddenly alert. He signaled for them to be quiet. There was a distinct sound of approaching hooves. 

Slade pointed to the road and then himself with his finger. With another hand signal, he ordered them to hide.

They strayed a bit to the side while following Slade until he exited the forest onto the road. They got into position with a clear view of the road from their chosen hiding place among the thick, leafy bushes. They were crouched down, looking through a small hole. One irritating bush branch kept tickling his face but he remained still.

The arriving party of riders were quite a few dozen, about ten people. Their armor glistened when hit by the sun rays that poured through, showing off a Metropolitan insignia carved onto the centerpiece.

Time for Slade to prove his worth.

If he ratted them out and turned on them, they’d probably have to make a run for it. Handling the patrol might be manageable but not with Slade backing them up.

Slade went out with one of his arms raised, waving. The men were perturbed and readied their weapons before relaxing when they seemed to notice that Slade was alone. Slade's mouth moved but Jason couldn’t make out what was being said. Dick leaned forward as if that was somehow going to make him hear better.

Two of the men got off their horses and approached Slade. They started pointing down the road. The rest saw this as much needed breaktime and with their commanders’ approval got off their horses as well. One of them sauntered into the woods, preparing to take a leak near their hiding place.

He didn’t hesitate, circling while crouching. Dick picked up a rock and threw it in the opposite direction of Jason, in front of where the man was peeing. It rustled through the leaves and hit the ground with a small thud. The man jerked his head up, startled.

He peeked into the woods in front of him. The fact that he didn’t see anything or hear anything else seemed to calm him. “Damn critters, I’ll skin ya and hang ya on my wall.”.

He was pulling up his pants when Jason struck. He put his palm over the man’s mouth and dragged them down onto the forest floor, beneath the bushes and out of sight, holding the man in a tight grip, choking until he ceased struggling and then some more. It went quicker than usual with his newfound strength and he was hit by a throbbing sensation, this time more within his head rather than his chest.

Dick tapped his arm when Jason didn’t let go of the man. The body slumped to the ground, unconscious but still breathing. He wanted to finish the job but Dick seemed intent on them advancing toward the road where the rest of the men were. He picked up the man’s sword while Dick took one of his daggers.

They spread out, ready to attack from different angles. Slade was still chatting with the captain and another soldier. Some of the other men must’ve deemed it had taken too long for their comrade to piss because they first started calling out jokingly, insulting the man. However, when they didn’t get a reply, they grew more restless and rigid. They began shouting more seriously and approached the woods. The two men talking with Slade were distracted by the sudden shouts and turned to see what the commotion was about.

That’s when Slade cut their throats in one swift move, unsheathing and sweeping his sword.

There was no use hiding any longer so they engaged the remaining soldiers.

Dick sprinted past him at the nearest guard and knock him out from behind. Then another raised his sword and lunged at him. As always, Dick’s approach was an agile one. The soldier had range with his sword compared to Dick’s dagger but Dick was quick to jump back and sidestep the guard to his right. He got close and launched a kick at the man’s chest before using the shoulder as leverage while somersaulting over him. He used the back of his dagger to deliver a blow to the back of the man’s head.

It only took a moment before he also joined the fray, spurred on by a thirst for drawing blood. Dick had already swiftly moved on to a new target. Three men approached but stopped in their tracks when they got a better look at Jason’s arm and claws. They looked horrified and one of them even took a step back, mouth agape.

The pulsating sensation within grew stronger both within his head and chest. Dick would call it reckless but he felt bolstered by the power surging through him.

As he lunged, one soldier decided to put up a fight and swung at him with his blade. It got midway before Jason stopped it by grabbing it with his hand. It didn’t cut through his scaly exterior. He used his other hand to grab the man’s neck and let his claws rip at the flesh. One of the other soldiers swung at him in the blink of an eye that Jason had butchered his comrade. All he had to do again was raise his arm and block the incoming strike. The soldier gave a furious yell, as if to bolster himself, and tried slashing him the same way again and again. Jason blocked them twice before grabbing the man’s arm on the third strike.

In one swift move, he moved his hand from the man’s arm up to the man’s hand gripping the sword. Then he put pressure on it, hearing the hand crack and blood guzzling down the man’s arm. The soldier screamed. He put his free hand on the man’s face, cutting him off mid-scream and applied the same pressure. Another crack and the man stopped moving. He threw him aside to take another look at his surroundings. It had just been about ten seconds but the third soldier was already in a sprint and was getting further away.

Something furious pulsed and vibrated within his body, from the head down to his toes. He disregarded the sensation and picked up the fallen soldier’s sword, hurling it at the soldier running away. Jason miscalculated his power input and the trajectory so it didn’t land in the man’s chest like he’d planned but rather in his thigh. Either way, the desired result was the same and the man fell. He advanced on the man as he tried to crawl in the opposite direction.

Another big throb within his head made him pause in his step. This time it was painful and something was prickling inside his skull as if it wanted to burst out of his skin. Then he reminded himself that they were mid-battle and continued his advance. Once he caught up to the man, he simply punched claws first through the man’s chest. The power wasn’t quite enough to make his half-formed fist go through. He paused it and instead grabbed at the nearest organ: the heart.

He pulled.

It came out in a bloody mess, squirting and spraying blood where he held it in his hand. The soldier fell to the ground. Since he had no more use for it and crushed the heart in his hand. A bit of the splatter hit his face and torso.

The vibrating in his body didn’t stop. He surveyed his surroundings once more. No enemy soldier was standing.

That’s when he locked eyes with Slade, who just pulled a blade out of a body on the ground. Jason could only hold his eyes for a few seconds before doubling over, clawing at his own head.

This time, something was actually starting to poke out of his skull. Looking down, he saw his shoes tear apart. It was as if sharp metal rods were growing inside them, out of his toes, and scales began covering the skin on his feet. Almost as if it was melting away.

Dick was calling his name but it was distant. The pain and transformations occurring overwhelmed his senses. It was as if screws were coming loose and spiraling out of his head at the same time as someone was jackhammering his skull. His skin continued to peel off in various patches on his lower body.

He went down on his knees.

“-s okay. It’s okay Jason! Remember, deep breaths...Just-…Bruce taught us…”.

Something made contact with his arm and he lashed out, wanting to push it away. He didn’t make contact with anything but then there was a hand on the side of his face, a thumb rubbing soothing circles. The other was gently patting his arm, urging it to stay still.

It was alright. He focused on the light pressure rubbing on his cheek.

The transformations slowly ceased; the steam inside evaporating. The hand on his arm moved to his back and moved in the same soothing manner as the hand on his cheek.

His head started to clear and he tried to twist away from the touch. “Stop that. I’m not an animal.”.

When he finally looked at Dick, his face was contorted in worry.

“You sure about that?”. Slade stared at him from behind Dick, holding the reins of three horses. He gestured at the body next to Jason with his blade.

He didn’t want to look. Couldn’t. Instead, he glared back at Slade.

“Not that different from the trail of bodies you’ve left here, is it?”.

“I’m not sprouting horns and clawing people to death though, am I?”. Slade’s slight smirk made it seem like he was strangely amused by the situation. Bloody hell. He wanted to tear his stupid face off for finding this kind of shit amusing. But that would prove his point so he had to hold back, for now.

Also, horns?

Hesitantly he touched on top of his head. His fingers met something firm and hard on both sides of his head, like a bone. He gripped and pulled at them but they stuck to his skull like immovable mountains.

Oh for the love of all that is holy, _please_. Let this be a shitty dream. 

There was just no fucking way. His chest heaved rapidly, his lungs not filling with enough air. He looked to Dick, who just gave him a sympathetic look.

“Listen, we need to get out of here. You okay with that, Jason? Can you stand?”.

He did, abruptly scrambling to his feet.

As he drew near, the horses were spooked. They didn’t lash out though, only whinnying and shuffling hooves against the ground. Not even when he got really close and Slade handed him the reins to a brown steed with white spots.

Dick and Slade followed suit, mounting their horses. Now that they had horses and supplies, they could cover ground more quickly. More importantly though, they needed to get away from this…whatever this had been.

* * *

As they rode out, he kept his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him.

Slade seemed displeased.

He wouldn’t budge though. Jason was about to fall off of his horse behind them and was barely responding when he tried to talk to him. His half-lidded eyes seemed to be weirdly fixated on the horizon.

“He’s exhausted. Besides we’ve already been riding for hours and daylight is fading.”.

It didn’t appease Slade. “I thought you were the one who wanted to hurry this along?”.

“I do. Just a couple of hours, that’s all we need.”.

Jason mumbled something, seemingly offended by them talking over his head. He didn’t have the strength to argue though.

A rush of relief went through Dick when Slade finally relented and pulled his reins, halting his horse.

For the most part, they’d kept off the main road and opted for riding through the forests and fields alongside it. Eventually, they had steered away from it entirely, following Slade’s lead and pushing deeper into a seemingly endless forest.

He found them a small clearing to set up camp in.

As Slade put up the lightstone, he shuffled through his saddlebag. He managed to find dried meat and bits of bread and cheese.

“Look at this, score!”. He’d lifted a piece of cheese like trophy in front of Jason. However, it yielded no response. Not even one of Jason’s classic eye-rolls. Jason just leaned back on a tree, slid down to the ground. He blinked slowly once, twice…then his eyes remained shut.

It was disconcerting, seeing Jason this lifeless.

It wasn’t much but he took one of the rolled up-blankets on the horses. Kneeling, he carefully covered Jason. He didn’t know if he could even feel cold now with the large patches of scale shielding most of his upper and lower body. He hesitated at first, before lifting his hand to Jason’s head. The black horn he touched was boney in structure but with a smooth surface. He was tempted to try to rip it off but he’d already seen Jason try it himself. The absolute terror on his face when he’d realized…

The touch became a gentle stroke before he pulled away.

“Quit pouting.”. Slade took another swig from his cup. “Or is it already too much for you?”.

He wanted to glare but simply couldn’t muster the energy for it. Not like it was going to have any effect anyways on an emotionless jerk like Slade.

Before he knew it, he was sitting down next to Slade on the ground. The man still refused to put up a fire and all they had was the lightstone on the ground in front of them. Whatever light was trapped within cast an eerie shimmer with different shades of green and blue. The sun rays were starting to fade from the treetops.

Both of them sat quietly and stared at the lightstone. It was like being stuck in a trance, oddly comfortable. It stirred memories from the past again. Slade had always kept his distance to the other men among Dick’s troops besides him. In hindsight, he’d realized that it was coldly calculated and that his interest in keeping close to Dick was due to his role as a commander. He’d thought of Slade as a bit grumpy and unsocial but always reliable. Slade had proved that not just in battle but also for his valuable input and the way Dick could lean on him when things got tough. He’d lacked experience after all. The people of Toran had looked for the Dark Knight to be their savior and instead they got his adopted ward, who had never commanded a big operation like that before. Naturally he’d been insecure about his capabilities for leadership.

Slade had taken advantage of that. 

A cup appeared before his eyes. It was filled with a reddish liquid. Most likely cheap, metropolitan wine from one of the saddlebags. He accepted it from the outstretched hand, feeling the brush of Slade’s fingers as they drew away from the cup.

He lifted it to his nose. It smelled fruity, with a hint of bitterness to it.

“You _know_ it’s not poisoned. Stop being so petty.”.

It sounded frustrated, as if talking down to a kid. A small smile crept onto his face. “Cheers then. To saving Jason and becoming Luthor’s lapdog.”.

He saluted Slade and emptied the cup in one swig, making sure to look straight at the other man’s sourface.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something here. I never said you’re becoming Luthor’s lapdog. You’re going to be working under me.”. 

Slade said it like it was a damned good deal, something for him to rejoice about.

“Isn’t that essentially the same thing? It’s not exactly a secret who’s your main employer.”. It came out bitter, as he grabbed the bottle and filled the cup again. 

When he put the bottle down, a hand laid down on his thigh, stilling the restless movement of his leg that he hadn’t even noticed. Slade’s eye bore into him.

“It’s not the same and you know it.”.

“Bullshit. I won’t fight for that thieving and murdering bastard, you hear me? I _won’t_.”.

Slade nodded. “I won’t ask you to. As long as you do as you’re told otherwise and don’t interfere with the jobs that I choose to take.”.

He grabbed Slade’s hand at his thigh in a tight grip.

“Even he asks you to topple Bruce? Or butcher people that oppose him and their families to send a message?”.

Slade glanced down at the grip on his wrist.

“It won’t come to that. Even if he asks, you won’t be involved.”.

The small laugh that came out of his throat rang hollow.

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? You hurting people without me knowing? People I care about.”.

At the last part, he was pleading, trying to appeal to whatever good that might still reside within Slade.

All he was met with was silence and Slade’s stony gaze meeting his.

He let go of the wrist.

“Could you at least have the decency to tell me what this is all about? It’s not like you’re really looking for an apprentice, right? In that case, there are plenty of better choices out there. Skilled people who can fight and kill without hesitation, who won’t require much training nor persuasion. I bet you meet a lot of those, given your profession.”.

Slade removed the hand from his thigh.

“You sure you want to sell yourself short like that? If that’s the case, maybe I should just pack up and leave your brother to his fate.”.

He froze. The grip on the cup was making his knuckles whiten. He couldn’t even be bothered to mask the panic in his voice.

“Slade-“

“I’m not going to though.”, Slade interrupted calmly. He took another slow sip from his cup. Then his steely eye met his own inquisitive gaze. “We made a deal. I intend to do my part. You just need to concern yourself with doing yours.”.

It sounded resolute. Slade was hiding something for sure, but he couldn’t help wanting to hang onto those words. At the very least about the fact that he was going to honor his promise to guide them to the Pit and help save Jason, even if all the other details were a blurry mess.

His eyes wandered to Jason. He looked so pale yet peaceful, leaning against the tree. Almost like someone on their deathbed, ready to leave the world behind.

He wouldn’t have it. No way.

“We’re not far away now. Another day’s ride at most.”.

It was as if Slade had read his mind. It made whatever spitefulness brewing inside melt away.

“Thank you.”.

Slade hummed in response.

He let his eyes wander back to the lightstone but froze as a hand brushed his cheek. He turned his face back towards Slade, whose thumb was rubbing in a soothing motion, making small circles.

Without thinking, he leaned into it and closed his eyes. It was inevitable and he didn’t resist when Slade’s lips covered his seconds later. Some irrational pull made him stay put, even responding. It started gentle and languid, Slade slotting their mouths together, tasting him, before escalating into a more aggressive kiss as Slade gripped his neck and pulled him in even closer.

The hand on his cheek moved down to encircle his waist. He held onto Slade’s shoulder like an anchor.

When it ended, he was the one hesitant to pull away. He licked his lips and stared at Slade.

Just like last night, it seemed like this wasn’t going to go any further.

Which was good. Of course.

“Okay, I think I’ve figured out your plan. You’re looking for some sweet sugar on the side while you work, aren’t you? And you know who’s got the greatest ass in all of Gotham. Probably Metropolis too.”.

He winked, trying to look as coy as he could through his lashes.

Slade actually chuckled.

“Go to sleep, Grayson.”.

“Already ordering me around?”. It sounded a bit suggestive. He blamed the wine.

This time Slade just shook his head. The small grin remained though.

He’d count that as a win.

* * *

It was dark.

He waded like a blind man through the water that reached his waist. The echo of the water splashing and the sounds of his own labored breathing were the only perceivable sounds.

Oddly enough, it felt _warm_. Just like the hot air around him, making it difficult to breathe as he trudged forward. He’d been walking toward a green glowing flame in the distance since it was the only thing he could see.

The closer he got, the worse the heat got. 

“Dammit!”. He wiped his face as beads of sweat slid down from his forehead.

Something else resonated in the air. A faint whisper? He tried to look around but there was nothing besides pitch-black surroundings.

He kept going, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping his arms from touching the blistering hot water.

Then something like brushed his ear and he heard a familiar feminine voice whisper his name right into it.

He spun around like a madman but there was nothing yet again. His pace quickened as if he could run away from it.

Another voice called out to him and an image of Bruce appeared in front of him, standing on the surface of the water.

“ _Welcome Jason. This is going to be your new home_.”. Bruce gestured in the same direction where the flame was. Another image took Bruce’s place. “ _We might make a proper chef out of you yet, Master Jason.”._ A smiling Alfred looked at him, holding up the fresh set of oatmeal cookies they’d baked together. Something jumped and cut through Alfred’s image. “ _One more time, Todd!_ ”. Damian swung his wooden sword and looked at him with those determined eyes. The image shifted again into a girl with flaming red hair on top of a horse. “ _C’mon, you slowpoke. First to the castle!_ ”. The young Barbara shot him a gleeful look before riding off. 

Then finally Dick who held onto his wrist. _“I’m not leaving you here. We’re in this together. We’re going back to Gotham, together. To our family, remember?”._ He looked angry but also pleading.

He reached out but the image disappeared and his hand grabbed at nothing. In front of him instead was the green flowing flame, floating above the still, murky water. He moved closer. The flame sparked in response, increasing in size. His arms flew up to cover his face.

Another whisper came as if someone was standing right beside him. “ _Your eyes…they’re glowing green.”._ Dick’s distinct voice echoed faintly.

Then another voice cut through the air. “ _This is Pit Magic. There's no helping that_.”. Ugh, Slade’s voice.

He looked past the green flame only to find Slade standing there. He looked down at Jason in disgust, as blood started to ooze out of his mouth and the open, gory wound on his chest. The flame reflected in his single eye and Slade raised his hand, pointing at it.

Then he faded away, just like the others.

The water around him became sizzling hot as if he was boiling inside a pot.

 _Something_ inside was calling out, telling him to touch the now pulsating flame. He raised his hand, reaching out once more.

Suddenly, there was a splashing noise next to him.

It startled him and he looked around wildly to find the source. He caught something floating up to the surface. A body. He recognized it immediately. The body of his mother. Her expression was just like the day he found her, pale and blank. A new addition though was the gaping hole in her chest. He heard her whisper his name again but jarringly enough, her lips weren’t moving.

Then several other bodies floated up to the surface. The bodies of Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, Damian and Dick. All with gaping holes in their chests.

He reared back, stumbled and plunged backwards into the water. The water he’d just been wading through seemed to have suddenly become as deep as a lake, since he sank, watching the green flame getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

Something big swam in front of it. Its shadowy form covered the light from the flame and approached him with incredible speed.

He knew what was coming, yet still struggled to do _something_. All he actually managed to do was to flail around uselessly with his arms and legs, getting nowhere, a stream of bubbles coming out of his mouth. 

The green glow in the distance behind the creature reflected off of the red scales and black horns. The beast opened its monstrous jaws. The mouth was big enough to fit a dozen people inside, teeth razor sharp.

He didn’t register much more before he was staring down its dark throat, swallowing him whole.

* * *

The entire body jerked as he awoke. A flare of pain shot through the head when it thumped against something hard behind. Grass and dirt were crushed in clawed grips, trying to steady himself. The illuminated clearing forced him to squint and blink several times before getting a sense of his whereabouts. Some heat was still spreading through him but seemed to be simmering down.

A blanket pooled down around his waist. He didn’t remember putting it on. Granted, he didn’t remember much else besides blacking out like a fool as soon as he had sat down yesterday. _Again_.

Glancing at the clearing, he spotted Slade sitting a few feet away, staring at him. He didn’t even seem to try to mask his distaste, the slightly curled lip and utter look of disdain.

A curse was about to slip out but got stuck mid-way when he could make out a familiar shape on the other side of Slade. Dick was lying next to Slade. And he looked downright comfortable too, deeply breathing and snuggled up close to Slade.

Slade caught his line of sight and looked down at Dick’s sleeping face. Then he looked back at Jason. He didn’t smile but the edge of his mouth clearly twitched upwards.

There it was again.

Inexplicable rage surged through him and made him seriously consider stomping over there and tearing him to pieces. Not like it would have any real consequence anyway since Slade would regenerate. Except maybe, hopefully, causing the man excruciating pain of being ripped limb from limb.

He wanted to lash out at Dick too, for trusting someone who was so obviously not their ally.

He had to sit for a moment, biting his lip, making sure he’d regained control over his body and mind. Which took way longer than it should. Bruce would be ashamed.

He stood up and signaled for Slade to follow him, striding away from camp.

There were no sounds of footsteps following. After putting some distance to the camp but not straying too far, he stopped.

Upon turning, it turned out that Slade had actually followed, just freakishly quiet. The distance from the lightstone made it harder to make out Slade’s facial expressions clearly.

Most likely stone-cold and condescending as always.

Slade waited, still as a statue, as he did nothing but glare. Most of his thoughts were of hurting and humiliating this man, like rubbing Slade’s face into the dirt where he himself was digging his feet. Or claws. Whatever the hell they had turned into.

“You need to stop stringing him along in whatever scheme you’ve cooked up.”.

His words were met by nothing but silence at first. Then a belittling sigh. 

“That all you dragged me out here to say?”.

“Stop messing with him. Once this is finished, you need to buzz off. I can’t kill you; I know that now. But I do know how to cause pain. A lot of it. Like cover you in oil and make you burn like a rag for as long as necessary. Or impale you on a stake and watch you try to drag yourself upwards as the wound can’t heal around the wood. Just to push you back to the bottom of it again. I also have these now.”

Jason raised one of his hands and made sure to display the claws.

“So stay away from u-“

“About as intimidating as a badger. You do that a lot, Todd? Fantasize about the most brutal ways you could kill people?”.

Slade’s voice sounded as even-toned as always, unperturbed by his threats.

“Not really. Just about people like you.”.

“You sure about that? It looked like you were enjoying yourself today, maiming those men. Especially when you tore out that heart and held it like a trophy.”.

His hand twitched from the memory. 

“I did what I had to do. How doesn’t matter.”.

“I disagree. To me it seems like your transformation into a pit monstrosity is going faster than expected.”.

Slade paused, leaning back against the tree next to him, before continuing. “Or perhaps not as fast as one might assume. I have a theory; would you like me to share?”.

“Don’t really care for it, no.”.

Slade moved quickly. He only managed to take one step back before Slade had closed the distance between them. He had the same even-tone as he spoke but there was a sharper edge to his words, taunting him.

“That this is nothing new for you. You might have suppressed it until now but you’ve always thought about it. I’ve seen it before. Men who enjoy killing for the sake of it.”.

In an instant, he was up in Slade’s face and gritted the words out between his teeth.

“Don’t talk as if you’re any different, you prick. You don’t know me so stop pretending to.”.

Slade sneered.

“Oh, but we are. It’s true that I take pride in my work. However, you’re deluded if you think that equates to enjoying killing specifically. What I _do_ enjoy is a proper challenge. That’s why I choose my contracts. The end result is still often death, yes. But not always. Why else do you think I let Grayson live all those years ago?”.

Something inside him twisted. Just the thought that Dick could’ve died by this man’s hands made him queasy.

“You, however, are not like me. Not like Grayson either. You salivate like a dog at the opportunity to spill blood, to get an outlet for whatever pent-up rage you have. Killing is a ritual that makes you feel powerful, doesn’t it? Whether it be a weak soldier running off with his back turned to you or someone else, you’ll make sure to re-enact some of those fantasies of yours.”. 

Okay, he’d heard enough.

“Oh please! Spare me this bullshit! Aren’t you mistaken about something here? You’re the goddamn psychopath that kidnaps people. You’re the one working for Luthor, who kills children. Goddamn children!”.

He’d tried to keep his voice low but he was at his limit. Hell, it’s not as if he regularly sought out people to kill.

Still, thoughts stirred in his brain. The way his body had vibrated with excitement when thought he was killing Slade. And those guards. Even before the mishap at the mountain, it’s not as if he ever spared a thought for those he killed or regretted doing it.

But he was doing his job, protecting Gotham and his family.

“My tolerance for you has a limit. Stay. Away. From. Us. Do your thing and disappear. I don’t know what happened during the time Dick spent with you but I do know the price he paid for it. It will _not_ happen again.”

He raised his hand as if he was about to sink his claws into him. Slade didn’t even flinch. On the contrary, he seemed amused.

“How delightful, this brotherly pretense of yours. You don’t even know half about the time we spent together. Besides, what happened was a valuable lesson for him.”.

This motherfucker.

“What the fuck are you on about? And in what living hell would that have been a valuable lesson? You nearly crippled him for life, you sick bastard!”.

Jason almost spat in his face. This wasn’t good. An angry undercurrent washed through him, speeding up the pulsating within his chest.

He lashed out, whirling his fist at the man’s face. Yet Slade dodged it with ease, stepping backward and out of reach.

“You seem to underestimate my abilities if you think he’d actually be crippled by that. Scarred, sure. Besides, if that level of fighting had managed to cripple him, it’d probably been wise to pull the plug on his career early, don’t you think? Rather than him getting killed.”. 

He was about to retort to this man’s apparent megalomania, just as though this nutjob had any right to dictate Dick’s life when Slade continued.

“I don’t think you realize the position you’re in right now. _I’m_ the one saving your life. How about you try being less obnoxious and more grateful for a change?”.

“ _As if._ I don’t know what your shitty scheme is, but I’ll find a way to stop it.”.

Slade actually smirked at that, the shadows from the leaves dancing on his face.

“You’re confident, I’ll give you that. For how long though?”.

What?

“As your mind and body gets taken over by whatever monstrosity you’re turning into, who’s to say that you’ll be aware of anything around you eventually. Maybe in the end all you’ll have left is that bloodthirst of yours. Maybe you’ll forget about him. Or try to claw his heart out too.”.

It made him freeze in place, incapable of doing anything else than stare.

“Tick-tock. Better get going, don’t you think?”.

With that last line, Slade sauntered back towards camp.

* * *

Something grasped his shoulder and shook it lightly. 

He waved the hand away, pulling up his blanket.

Then something hard hit his legs.

“Ow!”.

“Rise and shine, Dickwad.”.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Jason was squatting beside him with a wooden stick in his hand, looking down at him with a frown.

“Ugh…time to go already?”

“We need to get moving. You’ll have to eat breakfast on the road.”.

He looked around blearily. Slade was getting the horses ready.

Suddenly the wooden end of the stick was poking into his cheek.

“Alright, alright! I’m up!”. He did his best attempt to ward it off, but Jason took advantage of his dazed state and poked him with the damn thing again. Harder this time. 

He tried to summon a menacing glare but couldn’t do it. In fact, whatever glare he was giving Jason seemed to have the opposite effect because it made Jason smirk in an ultra-annoying way.

Yet he was glad. Jason was up and about and even smirking. Not lethargic and distant. Not _dying_. It made him smile.

“Feeling better now?”.

Jason held the stick as if he was going to poke him again but paused his movement. 

“Yeah. Much better. Sorry for passing out on you like that.”.

“Don’t worry about it.”. He lifted his hand to put it on Jason’s shoulder.

Before he could reach, Jason pulled away as if he’d been about to be burnt. He scrambled off of the ground and stood up, dropping the stick to the ground. It was so sudden that he gaped slightly, utterly confused as he looked at Jason. Jason’s expression was pinched, eyes locked onto the ground beside Dick.

Then he turned away and muttered, “Let’s go.”.

Feeling lost, he turned to the only other person present. Slade had been observing them and met his eyes. He tilted his head and gestured at Jason, who was readying his own horse. Slade just shrugged at him and then returned his attention to packing.

Jason refused to meet his inquisitive gaze both when he went to the woods to do his business and when he returned.

Was he ill? Feeling any more effects from the transformation that he didn’t want to tell Dick about?

He knew Jason could be stubborn but if this was regarding his health, he had to share. He was about to open his mouth when Slade urged them on with a whistle, already up on his horse and ready to depart.

It silenced whatever he’d been about to say, no choice but to follow suit as they headed off into the forest.

* * *

He’d definitely had more pleasant travels.

The atmosphere was awkward and thick with tension. Out of the corner of his eye, he was aware of how Jason would regularly look at him, yet as soon as he looked back, he averted his gaze.

He tried talking, even cracking some jokes. All Jason did was grunt and dismiss it, as if he didn’t hear anything.

Equally frustrating was Slade.

After last night it seemed he was getting bolder. He put his hand on Dick’s back several times when they rode beside each other and let his fingers linger seconds too long on his when handing over bread, a drink or other supplies. The whole thing felt like snake charming gone wrong and now the snake was making him dance to its tune. It made him tense up. He did his best to discreetly dodge the touches but it was difficult. He didn’t want to make it too obvious and bring Jason’s attention to it. 

The only sense of peace was the beautiful, lush forest surrounding them. It seemed to transform the deeper in and more off-road they went. It had gone from the typical forest that he was used to in Gotham, filled with nothing but pine trees, to something more mesmerizing. The trees got taller and broader, incredibly lush with gorgeous green leaves. The tree trunks shifted in all kinds of shades, from brown to ashen grey to white.

They also often encountered small rivulets as they rode the forest trails. The rivulets carried crystal clear water that looked almost unnaturally clear with a fresh blue-green color. It must be coming out of a mountain spring or lake somewhere around here.

All in all, the whole forest seemed dignified and undisturbed, as if few had ever traveled through it. The small trails Slade led them down on were barely visible under all the shrubbery. Neither did they ever encounter any other travelers or patrols, like on the bigger roads they had traveled just the day before.

Damian would love hearing about this, having seen little outside the walls, always enjoying tales of adventures in distant lands over the grey, everyday life in Gotham. He must’ve already told him about the expedition in Toran a hundred times by now. Obviously, he kept details about Slade as vague as possible. Damian had brimmed with excitement when he told of the battles they’d endured and gone up against the royal guard.

He imagined him doing the same thing when being told of the existence of trees as tall as giants.

The smile that had formed on his face dropped. Damian had to be alright, surely. Had there been any more attempts to kidnap him? Was he safe, along with Bruce and the others?

Was he going to get to see him again before leaving with Slade?

Right then, a water flask entered his vision. He just stared at it impassively as Slade held it in front of him.

“This again, Grayson?”.

Something warred inside him. He imagined taking the flask and splashing the water in Slade’s face. The satisfaction he’d get from that would be short-lived but still oh so sweet.

At the same time, the man was helping him save Jason. He didn’t know why Slade was so determined to string him along he wouldn’t want to try testing his worth to Slade.

If Slade bailed, they’d be screwed.

It’s not like he hated Slade either. Probably. It’d made him bitter, the way things ended, yes. Yet he’d be a big, fat liar if he didn’t say he still cherished the time they’d had together. Those lazy mornings between battles. His reaffirming touch, how he’d known to please both inside and out.

If not for his betrayal, he likely would have tried joining him once the war ended. Just traveling from place to place, picking up contracts on bandits and alike.

It’d been a nice dream while it lasted.

Slade had also been a brilliant teacher, giving him a lot of useful skills that he still had use of to this day, whether it be combat, strategizing or hunting. 

So, he accepted the flask without a word and drank. Upon returning the flask, Slade’s fingers lingered over his hand just like before.

Jason’s sudden cough made him pull away in a flash, without even an ounce of subtlety. This time when he looked back at Jason, he was staring, looking like a thundercloud personified.

Seriously, could things get any worse?

This time he averted his eyes, focusing on the surrounding forest.

Which made him halt the horse instantly.

“What is _that_?”.

Between the trees, something was munching on a dead deer in a meadow. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen and he just stared at it in awe. The front part of its body was that of an eagle, complete with wings. The back of its body was that of a lion.

Holy crap. It was a _griffin_.

He blinked, thinking maybe it’d go away. 

Slade raised his finger to his lips, signaling for him to be quiet. However, it was too late. The creature raised its majestic head and turned it towards them.

Then it screeched.

Slade had his swords pulled out within a second. Jason also tried to pull a sword out of the sheath attached to the saddlebag but his clawed hands made it difficult to grip it and it fell to the ground with a loud clang.

He pulled out his own sword as well. The griffin didn’t move but its gaze was intensely focused on them. It positioned itself as if it was about to pounce.

“Be careful of your surroundings! Griffins hunt in –“.

Slade didn’t get to finish his sentence before something large rustled in the wind. He just about managed to turn around before a griffin rammed into his horse, burrowing its claws into its flesh, lifting it off the ground.

The other griffin from the meadow flew past and headed for Slade and Jason.

He wanted to jump off but the griffin kept stabbing at him with its beak. He dodged, then parried with his sword, trying to keep it at bay as best as he could but the flying motion made everything unstable. There was also little room to maneuver his weapon.

The lion paw from the griffin’s hindleg came swooshing and nearly grazed his arm. The griffin seemed to realize the peril it was in when he managed to land a cut on its wing.

It swung the horse and threw it to the ground, _hard_.

Luck was his mistress today, as the griffin hadn’t managed to lift them too far up. He jumped before the now dead horse hit the ground.

He barely had time to get into position before the thing landed and pounced. He couldn’t do much else but roll to the side.

Taking that thing head on was suicide.

It stopped its charge and turned around to do another bull-rush.

“Are you sure there’s no way we could solve this peacefully?”.

He didn’t expect it to understand his words but considering all the weird crap he’d seen the last few days, he wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

It was no use. The griffin screeched and charged.

“Guess not!”.

This time he let it come close before jumping sideways and upwards as it ran past. He held onto its side for dear life, feathers bunched up in his grip, and climbed his way up on its back.

The griffin stopped and skidded across the ground. Then it started bucking to throw him off.

“Sorry about this!”. With that, he plunged the blade with a deep thrust into its neck.

The creature let out a gurgled screech before collapsing.

He was just about to run back when another screech pierced the air. The other griffin was disengaging with Slade and Jason, skillfully outmaneuvering their attacks from the air and flew past them towards him.

He heard Jason yell.

He was going to have to dodge but it was approaching fast.

Suddenly, it froze midair, just a few feet away from him, and dropped to the ground. It struggled, thrashing desperately, letting out a faint screech, before it went still.

Jason approached with Slade right at his heels. He went straight for the creature and readied his claws.

“Jason, no! It’s down!”. He yelled but it didn’t seem to stop Jason anyway.

Out of nowhere, a blast of wind came and Jason was thrown back against a tree.

“That won’t be necessary.”.

The unfamiliar voice sounded like it came from right behind. He quickly turned around, weapon at the ready.

“It’s alright, Grayson. Lower your sword.”.

Slade was at his side, grabbing his arm to get him to lower it.

“We’ve found _him_.”.

A man stepped out of the shadows behind the trees with hurried steps. He didn’t even spare them a glance when he swished past, kneeling beside the griffin he’d just stabbed.

“He won’t make it.”.

The griffin was bleeding out from the wound. The strange man mumbled something quietly. Then he took out something sharp from under his cloak and the griffin’s body stilled.

The man hurried over to the other one, looking it over. It was breathing but had a nasty cut on its side, no doubt from one of Slade’s blades. Dick also noticed the dart sticking out on the lower body.

“But she will.”.

He mumbled something again and this time he took out a small vial from his cloak. He poured some of its content over the wound, then putting leaves over it.

“This will have to do.”.

He just stared in utter confusion, no concept of what was transpiring.

Then Jason came stomping, clearly on the warpath and headed for the man. Crap. He tore his arm away from Slade and met Jason as he approached.

“Stop it, Jason.”.

The strange man didn’t seem intent on fighting them however Jason looked ready to murder, eyes glowing madly green and labored breathing.

“He attacked us! Probably sent those after us too!”.

“Calm down. Let’s just get a grip of the situation before doing anything. Okay?”.

He put the palm of his hand on Jason’s chest. 

Jason looked at him, clearly conflicted. His eyes wandered to the hand he’d put up, pushing against Jason’s chest. Finally, he relented, backing off a step, staring at the man with clear suspicion.

The man pulled back his hood, revealing a boyish face, black hair reaching down his neck and a set of blue eyes that were currently glaring at Slade with obvious disapproval.

“How’d you get here?”.

Slade smirked. ”Broke one of your charms.”.

Charms? He scrambled memories for any image of Slade doing such a thing. All that came to mind was when they stopped at a tree with a small and odd marking at the bottom. Dick wouldn’t have noticed it if it weren’t for Slade touching it so intently.

The man clicked his tongue. “Where?”

“The one to the east, when entering from the fieldlands.”

The man muttered something Dick couldn’t hear and gave Slade one last disdainful look before turning his attention to them. It looked like the cogs in his head were spinning rapidly, especially when his eyes locked onto Jason. He even slightly rubbed his chin before pointing at Jason.

“He cursed?”.

“Yes.”, Slade replied.

“Details, _please._ ”.

Slade was about to answer but the man cut him off. “Oh, nevermind. Let’s hear it later. Right now, I need to go and fix that damn charm _you_ broke before more people get through the barrier.”.

The man let out a whistle and looked up at the sky. 

“Um, should we wait here then?”. His voice came out uncertain. That gained him the man’s attention.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. Once that griffin wakes up and finds its mate dead, it’ll come after you if you’re anywhere nearby. Just go to my hut. Slade knows where it is. Oh, and don’t touch _anything_. I’ll know if you did and trust me when I say this: not only will I refrain from helping you, you will also enter a world of pain. Have I made myself clear?”.

The man fixed him with a stare.

“Yes, got it. And uh…sorry about the griffins.”.

The man’s face softened and he let his eyes wander to the still breathing griffin.

“It’s alright…You have the right to defend yourselves. It’s just that there aren’t many of them left. So please, leave that one alone. The mother needs to go back and see to its cubs now that they’ve lost their father. Otherwise, they might starve.”. 

He nodded.

“Good. See you later then.”.

Something big came through the treetops and for a moment he feared it was another griffin. It landed in gracefully front of the man.

For the second time that day, he blinked to check if he was hallucinating. There was a _huge_ raven there. It was as if someone had taken an ordinary raven and increased its size tenfold.

He gaped at and looked at Jason, who looked equally shocked.

The man climbed onto it without difficulty and prepared to take off.

“Wait!”, he yelled. “What’s your name?”.

The man turned to him. “Tim. Timothy Drake.”. Then he was off and up in the sky.

* * *

The heat inside that had flared up was simmering down again, now that finally the strange man was gone and all the commotion had winded down.

Dick was kneeling beside the dead horse. He petted its mane with a miserable expression as if he had killed it himself.

He was about to approach but Slade was already there, offering Dick a helping hand. As always, the intimacy in the gestures was subtle. Like the way Slade had been putting his hand on Dick’s back or the way he held onto Dick just a bit too long sometimes. Since their talk, it seemed as if he was deliberately trying to piss him off using Dick. And Dick, the stupid ass, was either too oblivious or accepting of it all.

Once Dick had removed the saddlebag, Slade gestured for him to follow.

While passing the griffins, Slade spoke up.

“Well done on defeating the griffin. That’s quite the feat.”.

Dick grimaced and didn’t seem to take the compliment to heart.

“Let’s head out. We’ll take my horse.”.

At that, he’d finally had enough.

“Nah, he’ll ride with me.”.

He’d done his best to stay away but Slade had been taking advantage of that non-stop. Riding together to the weird bastard’s hut shouldn’t be too much of a risk.

Dick looked confused, furrowing his brows, eyeing them both.

Slade leveled him with his usual stony gaze. “Won’t that be a bit taxing for your horse?”.

“I haven’t gotten _that_ much heavier! It’s just a short ride.”.

He gestured at Dick. “C’mon.”.

Pulling the damn weight-card, Slade truly used any means necessary to get his way. 

Fortunately for him, Dick didn’t question it. Or well, not out loud at least. He still looked like a lost puppy. Yet he sauntered away from Slade and joined him at his horse.

He sent a shit-eating grin Slade’s way when Dick climbed up. Slade’s expression didn’t change but he sure liked to imagine that he’d pinched a nerve somewhere.

Then Dick put his arms around him and scooted close. Really close. For some reason it made him feel weird. He was starting to regret the whole thing.

While riding, he told himself it was because he wasn’t used to riding with someone like this. The only time he’d done it was as a kid when Alfred had taught him how to ride. Yet his heart thumped like crazy when Dick squeezed his arms around his waist.

He tried to wrap his brain around it. Was it because of Slade’s taunt about hurting him? Or just self-conscious about his new appearance? Or had it simply been too long since he’d been with someone?

Maybe all of them?

Regardless, it made his body all jittery and there was no use trying to make sense of it.

“What is this place? I mean, there are freaking griffins! And ravens the size of a bull! I’ve never heard of Metropolis having such creatures.”.

“It’s a remnant of the old world when magic and these types of creatures were a regular occurrence. If you ask Drake, this realm belongs to no one. Technically speaking though, it resides within Metropolis.”. 

Slade’s reply made his head spin. Probably Dick’s too, though Dick didn’t ask any follow-up questions.

They’d get their answers soon enough.

* * *

Calling it a “hut” had been misleading. _Bigtime_.

Both he and Dick were left gaping once again when they came to Tim’s home.

At the trunk of one of the giant trees in front of them was a round, wooden door. Looking upwards, there were several wooden cabins up in the trees, resting on monstrously thick branches. There seemed to be three of them, connected through wooden bridges.

“How do we even get up there?!” was all he could blurt out.

Slade casually pointed at the door in the tree. “Through there. There’s a ladder inside.”.

“Why, of course.”, he muttered.

The carved-out insides of the tree looked well-crafted and polished, just like the inside of a house. The ladder was sturdy with thick wooden bars.

Once they climbed up top and exited the tree through another wooden door, they came out on the ancient oak branch of the tree. On this branch, two bridges were leading to the wooden houses on the opposite branches.

Slade walked casually across the bridge on the left. As he walked, lanterns with lightstones on the bridge lit up with a warm yellow color.

Gods, this place was mesmerizing.

Dick followed suit but he hesitated. The planks looked robust and in just as good shape as the ladder but would it really hold? The scales had added a few pounds to his body weight, though he’d die before admitting it. Looking down made him all wobbly. Taking a small step, he clutched at the ropes but immediately let go when he realized he still had these goddamn claws. Claws that could scratch the ropes. The ropes were thick but you could never be too careful. The plank gave a small creak but nothing serious.

When he looked up, Dick had paused midway and looked back at him. He was grinning. He mouthed something. He had to squint to read his lips. _Scared?_

Cheeky asshole. He could probably pull off one of his douchey acrobatic moves if the bridge broke but Jason didn’t quite have that same aerial control.

He signed “ _Up yours_ ” back at the Dickhead using his arms.

It didn’t wipe the grin off Dick’s face at all. Instead, the bastard opted to shake the bridge a little. It was enough to have him desperately clutching at the ropes.

Then Dick calmly skipped across to the other side.

He took one step after the other, calmly but determined, still clutching at the ropes, driven by the fact that he was going to teach Dick what fear was for messing with him

Once he got across, that is.

When he finally stepped off the last plank, he was just thankful to have made it.

He mustered the most menacing glare possible and directed it at Dick, who saluted him. 

Slade looked unimpressed with both of them. He could swear he heard him grumble something about “Idiots”.

Whatever. He’d get his revenge.

His horns almost scraped the doorway to the cabin when he walked through. The architecture looked just as well-crafted and polished as the room inside the tree. Several lightstones lit up inside of the house as they entered and closed the door.

It looked cozy, all furniture made out of wood except the black stove made out of steel and the fireplace. There were several carved figurines placed on shelves and on top of the fireplace along with small bottles of various plants, seeds and flowers.

Slade walked to one of the cabinets and pulled out a kettle. He removed a wooden bucket from underneath a tap and cranked the wooden handle beside it a few times before water flowed through. After that, the kettle was placed on the stove that Slade fired up with a nearby match.

“Uh, you’re being awfully homey here. Didn’t the dude tell us to lay off of his stuff?”.

Slade made himself comfy, leaning back in the armchair near the fireplace, placing his hands on the arms rests, as he waited. “He meant his equipment. Don’t worry, Todd. I’ll take full responsibility if he whines about the use of his kitchenware.”.

“You seem awfully familiar with this guy. Feel like sharing?”.

“Drake will tell you what you need to know when he gets here. Just sit tight.”.

“That doesn’t answer squat shit.”.

“Drake and I have done business in the past. While not particularly fond of me, he’ll tolerate my presence here. He’s a guardian of this forest. That enough?”.

Slade lifted his chin, eye sharp, daring him to continue pestering him.

“What about us?”, Dick asked.

“That should be obvious, considering he invited us all here and not just me.”.

Dick shook his head. “No, I mean, will he really help us?”.

The kettle piped up, hissing.

Slade rose and removed it. “Probably. He’s a real sap. Even if he acts to the contrary.”.

He poured himself a cup and then took something out of the cupboards. It was a small wooden container, containing something that looked like grinded plants. Slade smelled it and put a bit of it on his tongue. Deeming it okay, he poured a bit of it in his cup, mixing it with a spoon. He resumed his irritating position from before in the armchair, sipping his damn tea without care, as if nothing could faze him.

Although now he knew that something did. It’d been quick but there had been a clear flash of anger on Slade’s face when the griffin had taken off with Dick, no matter how brief.

Something whooshed outside, the flapping of wings. Before any of them got to their feet, the door flew open and that Tim guy entered.

The young man, Tim, looked tired. He particularly pursed his mouth when he saw Slade in his armchair with the cup of tea.

“I see you’ve made yourselves right at home.”.

Slade raised his glass in a toast.

Tim disregarded it, going for the kettle and filling a cup for himself. He snapped his fingers and suddenly the fire was lit in the fireplace.

Okay, so definitely a wizard then. Another fact to add to the pile of shit Slade should have informed them about. 

“Let’s hear it then. Why are you here?”.

“Our castle was attacked –“

“A stupid witch threw a curse-“

Both he and Dick started at the same time before going quiet.

“Go ahead, Jay.”

“No, you take the lead. I just wasn’t sure anyone was going to say anything.”.

“You’re the one experiencing the curse, it’s better if you tell it.”. 

If Drake had looked tired before, he looked positively drained now.

“Could _someone_ please just tell me what’s going on?”.

Dick cleared his throat and motioned for him to continue.

So he did, keeping and tweaking certain details to keep Drake from deducing their real identities. In this version, they were nobles with a smaller castle within Metropolis. Otherwise, he recounted everything as it had happened. Drake cringed at some of Jason’s more colorful descriptions but seemed amused whenever he referred to Slade as “that asshole” or “that bastard”.

Once he finished, Drake observed him quietly.

“Penny for your thoughts, Drake?”, he asked.

“It’s Tim. Don’t call me Drake.”.

Drake - _Tim_ \- stood up abruptly and walked up to him. He was shorter than him, so he had tilted his face down to get a good look at Tim.

That’s when Tim’s hand grabbed one of his horns.

The move forced him to bend down a bit. He tried to grab Tim’s hand but Tim just muttered for him to calm down.

Any semblance of calm had flown out of the window when Tim suddenly pulled up his shirt and started palming and groping at his scaly chest.

When his stupid brain finally thought to take a step back, Tim already seemed done with his examination. 

“Warn a guy next time! Could’ve torn that damn arm off...”.

“I don’t doubt it. Could you describe it for me? The sensation before and during each transformation.”.

The breath hitched in his throat. Without even thinking, his eyes went to Dick. Dick seemed to eye him curiously back. Shit. He really didn’t want to. Not here, not with Dick and that asshole.

“At first it’s…uh…warm. Always feels like something heats up in my chest and spreads like wildfire. It starts pulsating too. Like little shockwaves going through the nerves. When the intensity of it increases, it almost feels like I can’t breathe, it’s painful.”.

His face muscles tightened as if he could feel an echo of the pain simply by imagining it.

“But once I pass that breaking point, all of sudden I feel these surges of power. Like I could kick the world’s ass.”.

“How does it start? Does this heat start spreading spontaneously or has there been a specific trigger?”.

It stunned him. “I dunno…I guess each time I’ve felt angry?”.

“Angry at what?”.

Hell to the no. He was not about to spill his guts about it. Not in front of them.

“Geez, this whole situation I’m in okay? How does this help exactly?”.

Tim rolled his eyes, seemingly exasperated by his outburst.

“I need to understand how the curse works if I’m going to be of any use to you at all. If we know what triggers it, we may at least be able to slow it down. Based on what you said, your emotions seem to be able to impact the spell itself, perhaps accelerating its process.”.

“Look, I need it to stop, not just slow down. How about you just tell us how to get to this Pit-thingy alright?”.

“Jason.”.

Dick’s voice was stern.

He was about to argue but Dick had already turned his attention back to Tim.

“We’ll take whatever help you’re able to offer. In the beginning, before the first transformation, Jason mentioned having that heated and pulsating sensation all the time. It was weaker but kept slowly building up. I don’t know how it is now for him between transformations but each transformation has always occurred in connection to a battle.”.

Okay, this was ridiculous. They were treating him like a child, talking over his head.

“Okay, so anger and battle are possible triggers. Look, Jason, you don’t have to tell me why you were angry during those instances. However, if that anger is tied to the same type of trigger, you need to watch out for it yeah? Keep away from it. So now that we’re past that, how about you tell how these transformations cease? Did they just randomly stop or did something happen to make them stop? Do you eat or drink something, or is it something else?”.

Oh shit. His head snapped away but he could feel his face heating up, probably getting red.

Unfortunately, his eyes were now instead treated to the sight of Slade looking at him in amusement.

This sucked so bad.

“I don’t know! I guess after I win the battles I was fighting. Like when I fucked up Slade and those soldiers!”.

Now Slade was raising his eyebrow and Jason had to look away again, fixating his eyes on an innocent cupboard. Away from the other three sets of eyes that were watching him like he was some sort of exotic animal, making his heart pound from the sheer awkwardness. His voice had been an octave louder than he’d intended, dammit.

“So a sense of victory stops your transformations?”, Tim urged, still not satisfied.

He nodded. “Probably. As I said, I don’t know how this shit works.”.

Sounded a hell of a lot better than it stopping by someone petting you like a stray dog while telling you bad jokes. That someone being in this room right now, staring at him with an odd look.

“Makes you sound a bit like a prick, but alright.”. Tim started cleaning up in the kitchen, washing off the kettle and wiping it clean while yawning. Then he turned back to them.

“Alright here’s how it’s going to go down. Thanks to you, my powers are wiped for the day. I spent most of it fixing that charm and keeping _you_ from doing something stupid to that griffin.”.

At that last line, Tim’s eyes felt like spears as they bored into him.

“I need to recharge. Tomorrow, I’ll be able to take a look at you properly.”.

Tim rubbed his neck, shuffling a bit.

“As for the Pit…I understand your reasoning for wanting to go there. Even at a glance, it’s obvious that this spell is powerful and enduring. Using its essence might be the only way to break or alter it. But it can also bring you a world of pain. The magic that resides there is chaotic and unpredictable. You’ve just been exposed to a bit of it and look at you. Going to the source of it all could do something exceedingly worse than that. To _all of you_. Even if that doesn’t kill you, there’s also Ra’s Al Ghul to deal with.”.

Tim seemed disgusted to even utter Ra’s name, spitting out the name while scrunching up his nose while frowning.

However, it melted away and for the first time, his expression softened, enhancing his boyish features.

“Perhaps it would be better to let things run their natural course. I could help you slow it down enough for you to live at least a bit longer in peace. Besides, you don’t even know what will happen upon the spell’s completion. The magic is chaotic but it might not necessarily kill you. Maybe it’ll only shift your form and not your psyche. Perhaps the end result won’t be as bad as you think.”.

Shit, this guy was even more optimistic than Dick.

“Or perhaps it will be and it’ll hurt not just you but everything around you. After all, the curse was aimed at your lord for reasons that must’ve been malicious. Containing you here might be the best option.”.

Okay, maybe not that optimistic.

“Either way, nothing can be done right now. I’ll help you as best as I can tomorrow. You can use the cabin with the brown door past the bridge. I use it mostly for storage but there are at least two beds in there and a sofa, it should be habitable enough. Just…Don’t break anything. Understood?”.

Dick nodded while he himself muttered an “Aye-aye, captain.”. 

Tim looked them over once more before disappearing through the door down the hallway, closing it with a click. 

* * *

Slade went ahead, leaving the cabin and crossing the bridge. He deliberately slowed his steps, eventually standing side by side with Jason, who was staring at the bridge before them as if he was stuck in a daze.

“Spooked again?”.

Jason blinked. “As if, dumbass!”.

Still a sore spot. He raised his arms in surrender with a grin. “Alright, alright.”. His hand moved before he was even aware when Jason took his first step off onto the bridge, gripping Jason’s shoulder.

“Could we talk? Just for a bit.”.

It was a gamble but then again, it always was with Jason. As of right now, he figured Jason had three options: keep avoiding him, lash out or cooperate. Since they were now stuck up in these trees, he figured his chances were better than before. After the whole griffin-debacle, Jason had even looked at him properly for what felt like the first time in ages. They’d even rode the horse together. 

Jason seemed reluctant but still allowed himself to be guided back, towards the edge of the thick branch near Tim’s cabin where they’d just been. He sat down on the edge with his legs dangling out. Behind him, Jason let out an audible sigh yet relented, sitting down beside him. However, unlike him, he crossed his legs and kept them away from the edge.

It was comfortable being there, just the two of them, peering out at the forest in silence, shoulder to shoulder. The moonlight illuminated the giant trees in an ethereal bluish shimmer. It looked magical. Hell, it probably was considering how weird this forest had proven to be so far.

“Not to bust your balls, looking at…trees? And whatnot. But why’d you call me over here?”.

He snickered.

“Can’t a guy spend some quality time with his family? Or are you that busy these days?”.

The pained look on Jason’s face made the smile on his face drop.

“I’m not…”. Jason sighed, his right hand clenching and unclenching in his lap. “Look, I’m tired, that’s all. From all of this.”.

He didn’t doubt that for a second. If Jason looked this exhausted on the outside, one could only guess at how he was feeling inside.

“I got it. It’s just…did you really tell Tim everything back there?”.

That made Jason’s head jerk up. “Why wouldn’t I?”. Now he was frowning.

“I got the feeling you were holding something back. Just wanna make sure you cooperate with him fully. If it’s awkward to say in front of me and Slade, we’ll be out of your hair. Say the word. And don’t hold anything back, okay? This guy might be our first real shot at getting you some help.”.

When Jason didn’t say anything, he was tempted to poke him. Before he could do that, Jason quietly spoke.

“…even if it’s bad?”.

“What do you mean ‘bad’?”

“Like something that might make him not want to help us anymore? Make him want to do away with me, whether it means containing me here or killing me?”.

What the? Where was this coming from?

“Well…Tim seems like a nice guy. If he’d scare that easily, he wouldn’t have invited us here. Besides, if he tried to any of those things, he’d have to go through me.”.

He tried to pat Jason’s leg reassuringly but Jason pulled away.

“He should. You too. That endless optimism of yours is gonna fuck you up real bad if you don’t wake up soon. Face reality already!”.

Okay, so cooperation went straight out the window. He’d already opted to lash out. He had to swallow a bitter laugh at how quick the shift had been.

“I’m sorry things aren’t going fast enough for you, but we made it all the way here. The Pit’s within our reach, it isn’t a fantasy anymore. If you could just-”.

“Just what? Hold on a little longer? What’s the actual plan here? Even if we get to the Pit, you think it’s going to work like a goddamn wishing well? The thing might as well just kill me! Or worse! I know you’re a dreamer but you got to fill that head within the practical confines of reality. We know squat-diddly shit about what’s going to happen. The situation is _not_ under control!”.

“How exactly does panicking about it help us? The plan’s always been to go to the Pit! Tim might be able to help but even if he can’t, we got other options. We have Ra’s followers and if anyone knows anything about this, _they_ do! We also have Slade! Why don’t you try believing for once, you stubborn -“.

“ _I’m_ stubborn?!”. Jason stood up abruptly. “You should have gone home when I told you to, dammit! Even with Bruce back at Gotham, it’s still vulnerable. They need you there. Losing you would be devastating for them! Don’t you get it, your life doesn’t just belong to you!”.

It was as if Jason had actually smacked him across his face, making him all wobbly when he got up on his feet. It was confusing, He couldn’t tell if he was shaking because of grief or rage.

“Stop. Just _stop_! Why are you talking as if everyone would be okay with you dying? I could spout the exact damn gibberish back at you! In what world do you think I or anyone in the family would be okay with abandoning you like this?”.

He couldn’t stop himself from closing the small distance between them and pound his fist once against Jason’s chest. As if he could physically pound that fact into him.

“Stop, please…this way of thinking isn’t going to help you out of this, Jay. Could you just trust me for-“.

Jason’s hand suddenly whipped out, gripping his arm. Tight. So tight that Dick was actually starting to worry it might break.

“…once”, he finished meekly while staring at the grip.

When his eyes darted back to Jason, his eyes were flashing with an unnatural green glow, giving him goosebumps. “You want to talk self-destructive, Dick? How about jumping off of a goddamn mountain, counting on luck to survive? What was that about? Or shacking up with the man who nearly maimed you for life? Or following a fucking-…fucking _lizard_ -monster! Who likes to rip out hearts. Why the hell would you follow into a place where that green shit could transform you into the very same thing, or worse!”.

Jason shoved him. However, this time it was his turn to grasp Jason, holding the same wrist that had just held him. He wasn’t going to back down. Not like this.

“You wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t for the curse! Don’t talk as if I jumped off a mountain or came all the way here for a stranger! I did this for _you_! For some goddamn reason, this is a newsflash for you? That I’d want to try to save someone I freaking love from being turned into a mindless monster or killed? How is that irrational to you?!”.

This was so absurd that he didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or yell in anger. He shouldn’t have to explain this, it should be damn obvious.

“I don’t want _anything_ to be destroyed, not you and not me. I want us to go home, for you to see for yourself how much they care. And goddamn yes, Jason, we’re your _family_ , like it or not. You can keep rejecting it all you like but it’s never been about blood bonds. _You_ of all people should know that. If that was the case, the only real family would be Damian. No Barbara, no Alfred, no nothing. And-and that’s just ridiculous! The way you’re acting right now is just complete and utter bullshit! Like you’re some kind of… outcast. Guess what, just wishing for it doesn’t make you one!”.

There was a twitch in Jason’s face, a brief flash of contorted face muscles, as if in pain, before he let out a small bitter laugh. 

“Newsflash for you Dickie: you don’t know me. You think you do, but in reality, I might as well be a bloody stranger to you. Sure, the bloodlust these days might be a tad bit over the top but I’ve _always_ felt it. All the way back since my first patrol with Bruce, my first kill. The skirmish with the Metropolitan soldiers back at Gotham, I enjoyed that too. Tearing Slade apart was the absolute _best_. It’s all me.”.

Jason loomed over him, the intense and unearthly eyes of his coming closer. He had to resist the urge to take a step back, some primal fear striking a chord from within. Ridiculous, this was Jason for crying out loud. 

“On the other hand, I know _you_. Even if killing is the path of least resistance, you’ll make some lame attempt at knocking your enemy out. It’s probably why Slade managed to make such a mess of you, you never had the guts to go at him with real killing intent. You’ve always been…idiotically pure in that sense.”.

Jason averted his gaze. When the eyes were no longer on him, it felt as if a spell had been lifted and he could breathe again. 

For how long had Jason viewed him like this? His grip on Jason’s wrist softened, making Jason eye him carefully. The other hand moved and cupped Jason’s hand. He rubbed a small circle with his thumb across the scales using the hand that was holding the wrist before squeezing, as if it would emphasize his words.

“I think…we’re looking at the same thing with different perspectives. I’ll believe that killing those people brought you satisfaction, Jay. But I also think I know _why_. The patrol? They’d just killed the stablemaster, Parrish. I remember how much we’d play at his place and how he taught us to ride. You most of all. He’d even promised to give you your own horse for your sixteenth birthday. Then they _butchered_ him and stole the horses. You brought every single one of them back to his family. Those soldiers from Metropolis had just tried to take Damian away from us and have been trying to kill Bruce god knows how many times. And Slade? You were just protecting me.”.

He’d say it as many times as it took. Jason’s head may be thick but it wasn’t impenetrable.

“You’re not a natural killer nor a monster. You feel satisfaction because you’re killing the people who are trying to hurt something that you care about. The curse might be amplifying that trait of yours a bit too much, yeah… but I don’t doubt that it still stems from a good place.”.

He leaned his head against Jason’s, nearly bumping noses. This close, he could see every detail in Jason’s eyes. Such as how the green glow was still there but fading, making the hues in the iris display a faint mix between green and blue.

“You have a good heart. I wish you could see it as well as the rest of us do.”. 

Since they were this close, he whispered, hands still clutching at Jason’s.

Jason didn’t say anything.

Was that good or bad?

He leaned back to assess the situation. Before he could get a read on his face, Jason ducked and squatted on the ground, using one hand to rub at his face, hiding it from sight. However, he didn’t withdraw his other hand from Dick’s though.

He kneeled carefully in front of him. Was he mad? Embarrassed? Sad? Things had gotten pretty sappy, even by his own standards. He knew Jason hated stuff like that. But these things had to be said.

“Uh, you okay there, Jay?”.

Still no response. Dammit. Alright, he’d wait another minute then.

The bluish shimmer from the moon still shined through the woods. However, this time he could discern _something_ glowing at the opposite tree near them.

“Oh, wow…look, Jay. Fireflies!”.

There was a smaller swarm, hovering and mingling together. Just like most creatures in this forest, they were a bit larger than usual in size. It almost looked like they were dancing, the way they buzzed around each other. Accompanied with the bluish shimmer as a contrast, it looked truly astonishing.

He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face at the beautiful sight.

Something clutched at his hand. All of a sudden, things were happening so quickly that he just about managed to turn his head before Jason was…hugging him?

“Whoa! You okay?“.

Equally sudden, he backed off a bit, revealing his face. The eyes were still glowing green and his face looked contorted in…pain? Still no verbal response either. One of Jason’s hands came up to his face, as if to touch it, but settled back on his shoulder. His entire body hinted at some sort of internal struggle.

Was he okay?

He reached out his hand to grasp Jason’s arm but Jason pulled him forward in one swift movement and _kissed_ him. Full on the lips.

Everything froze, except for the gasp that slipped out. He tried to lean backward but Jason put his other hand on his back and pulled him right back into it, tight against his chest.

The kiss was desperate and graceless, the way Jason was mashing their mouths together. His brain was still processing the whole thing when Jason slipped his tongue in. The whimper that came out was unintentional, however Jason seemed bolstered by it. His body was still malfunctioning, his hands fumbling against Jason’s torso uselessly, trying to find leverage but failing.

Jason held him steady through it.

Before he could find any semblance of control over his limbs and decide whether to respond or push away, it was all over. Jason’s grip on him loosened and he leaned his head down against his shoulder.

“Dammit, Dick…”.

The voice was low and defeated. He still didn’t know what to do with his hands. One of them decided that the right response was apparently to pet Jason’s head, shuffling his hair. It made Jason shift his head and look up at him. The only way he could describe the look on his face was a strange mix of wistful happiness that made him shiver. The green faded completely from his eyes. He straightened before leaning in slowly, gently bumping noses with Dick.

“You goddamn beautiful bastard…”. Jason’s voice was coarse and the grip he had on him tightened.

His breath hitched.

Jason was leaning in closer again and once more; he couldn’t think of a single thing to do. His brain was completely blank as if this was happening to someone else.

“That’s enough.”.

Slade’s voice was like ice sliding down his neck. He scrambled away from Jason in less than a second.

He turned to Slade but the man wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, he was glaring at Jason, who stared back just as intensely in turn.

There was nothing but absolute, awkward, unbearable silence.

“So, uh…we were watching the…fireflies…”. His voice trailed off meekly towards the end, as he pointed at the swarm that was now heading further away into the forest.

Good news - the staring contest between Jason and Slade stopped. Bad news, both of them were looking at him like he was a complete stuttering moron. Damn, when had he become this graceless? When younger, he’d been so smooth that he’d occasionally even managed to wrap Bruce around his finger.

“Uh-huh. How about you call it quits, considering the long day ahead tomorrow?”.

“How about you shut up and leave us alone, Slade. We’re not your underlings.” Jason refuted.

The glaring contest was back on. The anger brewing in Jason was leaking out, exposed by irritated body language, ripe with tension and ready to pounce, while Slade just remained still with his arms crossed.

“Really? Last I checked, the only reason you’ve made it this far is because of my help that your brother has kindly procured for you. Want to take it down a notch?”

“Doesn’t change the fact that we’ll sleep when we goddamn please. Why don’t _you_ go ahead without us? We’ll catch up later.”.

“This petulant behavior of yours is getting rather tiresome, Todd. How about you just be a good little monster and do as I say?”.

Okay, this was getting ridiculous.

Then he nearly jumped out of his skin when Slade came up from behind and pulled him back by goddamn gripping his jaw. In one swift movement, he leaned his head back slightly and used his thumb to wipe at his lips. He’d have bat the hand away if he wasn’t busy staring at him in frozen shock. Slade stroked his cheek before stepping back and withdrawing his hand.

His senses kickstarted back to life, far too late to act.

It seemed… _possessive_. However, Slade wasn’t a possessive man. Surely. In that case, it had to be some kind of weird payback scheme because of Jason’s attitude.

Whatever it was, he was having none of it.

“Actually, I’m feeling a bit tired. Sleeping sounds like a good idea, why don’t we all just do that?”.

Tactical retreat would be the correct phrase. He stretched his arms and didn’t even have to fake the tiredness in his own voice. Jason looked at him like he’d stabbed him in the back with a big, fat butcher knife. He wished he could convey to Jason that he was sorry but this was for the best. Pissing off Slade would lead to nothing but trouble.

Quite frankly, he had problems even looking at either of them right now. Everything was just a mess. He was genuine about wanting to sleep, it’s probably the only thing that could numb his brain right now.

Instead of waiting for a response, he walked briskly towards their designated house. Upon entering, the lightstones inside all lit up. It was dustier than Tim’s place and he hadn’t been lying about using it for storage. There was an array of different furniture and items cluttered around the place.

He squeezed his way through down the hallway and found three doors. The first one was just a storage room full of boxes and various items. Another led to a bedroom with two beds in it and a nightstand in-between. Looked comfy enough. The third and last room turned out to be some sort of living room. There were several bookshelves jam-packed with various books. There were even piles of books on the floor near the fireplace and around the sofa in front of it. What really caught Dick’s eye though, was the painting. It was the only one, nailed to the wall near the fireplace, which was one of the few walls in the room not covered by a bookshelf. It was an oil painting, exquisitely drawn and the faces staring back looked almost lifelike.

He heard Jason entering the bedroom, discovering the beds, and exclaiming “Weird. I didn’t peg the guy for the type to have a lot of guests.”.

Slade apparently went straight to the living room where he was, judging by his footsteps. He still didn’t avert his eyes from the painting when Slade came and stood beside him, though he did feel the brush of fingers on his wrist.

“Holy crap, is that kid _Tim_?”, Jason blurted out once he entered as well.

Slade’s fingers withdrew.

The painting displayed three people: an adult female and male. The female was sitting in a chair, holding onto a child that looked about eight to ten years old. Next to them stood the man with his arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulder. All of them were smiling and the woman and what looked like a young Tim had the same striking blue eyes and hair color.

“Yeah. And his parents, I think...”. Dick hoped for Tim’s sake that they’d just gone away on a long trip, perhaps so long that Tim could even offer up their beds to guests and using it as storage. Yet there was quite a strong feeling that wasn’t the case. Tim had probably been alone for a long time. His parents were probably…

“You okay, Dick?”. Jason was about to walk up to him. He whipped around quickly and did his best to not look past him when he approached. “I’m fine, just tired. Actually, I was thinking I could sleep here while you guys take the beds? That alright with you? Think you could share a room without killing each other?”.

Jason could not hide his disgust. His whole face scrunched up seemingly at the prospect of sharing a room with Slade.

“You sure?”, Slade asked him, clearly more mature about the whole thing.

“Yeah.”. Definitely. Right now, he just needed space, if he were to have any chance of falling asleep at all.

Slade didn’t put up any objections and left quietly. Jason also left but he was muttering something. He was about to close the door to the living room when Jason exited the bedroom with a mattress and accompanying pillow and bedding rolled up in his arms. He dumped it on the floor further back in the hallway, where there was a bit of empty space between some boxes. He went back and closed the door to the bedroom.

“Really, Jay?”. Could they really not just share a room for one night?

“Yes, really _Dick._ ”. Jason made sure to emphasize the last part. He pointed back at the door with his thumb. “I’m not sharing a room alone with that nutjob. He’d probably slit my throat in my sleep and call it a tragic accident come morning. This way, I’ll hear him coming through that creaky-ass door.”.

He didn’t even try to argue but couldn’t hold back the eye roll. 

“Fair enough. Goodnight.”.

Jason opened his mouth as if he was about to say something. Then he closed it, without uttering a word.

Whatever he’d been about to say, he wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

Instead, he shut the door and touched the lightstone hanging from the ceiling. It dimmed before going out completely, shrouding the room in darkness save from moonlight coming from the window. After taking his shoes off, he fell on the sofa. Sleep washed over him without struggle. The sheer exhaustion quieted whatever thoughts were raging inside his head, even the image of Jason kissing him playing over and over again.


	5. The Wheystone

Even though he prayed for it, the sweet oblivion of sleep eluded him.

Firstly, his stupid horns got stuck in one of the wooden boxes behind when he’d laid down and stretched out. He’d have to jump off a cliff all over again, if anyone had witnessed his desperate struggle to pull them out of that goddamn thing.

Secondly, there was an itch on one of the non-scaly parts on the upper parts of his neck. Of course, being a dumbass, he scratched it. Thanks to that, droplets of blood had now smudged themselves onto the pillow.

Thirdly and most importantly, the fact that he’d just _kissed_ Dick was still blowing his mind. He tried thinking of Bruce’s tedious lessons, Alfred cooking his favorite food and Damian swooning with a dumb expression over the litter of kittens their castle cat had recently gotten. 

But it all came swirling back to thoughts of Dick; the soft lips, the way he’d felt pressed up against Jason, his body all lithe yet muscular. The small noises he’d made were still ringing in Jason’s ears.

So yeah, here he was, tossing and turning with the wildest yet most confused arousal in his entire life. Like some kind of perverted sex demon.

 _That_ had never been his intention. He didn’t even know he _wanted_ to do such a thing until now. On the contrary, his goal was to push that self-sacrificial idiot as far away from him as possible. But then Dick turned the table on him, or rather shoved it completely out of the way, telling him he _loved_ him. That he wasn’t disgusted by him. Also, that goddamn _smile!_ It burned in his mind. It’d been almost a supernatural experience, seeing him surrounded by that blue and greenish shimmer.

He’d looked magical.

It’d been stupid. Yet he’d simply moved without thinking and here they were. Everything had just felt so damn _right_. All of the weird, buzzing feelings he’d had around Dick for years suddenly made sense. It was something he’d always waved them off as being something else. Really, who in Gotham wasn’t attracted to Dick in some way? He’d always been like one of those silly, frilly fairytale princes come to life.

It was never supposed to have been anything deeper than that. 

Then, thanks to Slade, it all came crashing down. The spell was broken. They were supposedly family, at least in all the other ways that mattered. It’s probably the only way Dick had ever thought of him. Then there’s also the matter of the new monstrous changes to his body that would make most people run in the other direction.

Dick barely spared him a glance after what happened, awkwardly looking in every other direction but his. It hurt, made him feel pathetic and angry all at once. Yet he couldn’t stop replaying the scene of them kissing over and over again.

There might not be a lot of time left and having Dick pull away from him now, even if it was for the short remainder of his life, would be devastating.

He still also had to make sure Dick was safe before walking through death’s door. That meant getting him away from Slade and making sure he went back to Gotham. It nagged his mind. If he ran away, Dick would probably just follow. Once Dick set his mind to something, he’d be hellbent on achieving it. He wouldn’t stop until they’d at least tried going to the Pit.

Now that they were close, he hoped Dick would let him and Slade go at it alone. If the Pit really was that dangerous, he needed to stay away. It would also give him the lovely opportunity to get rid of Slade.

Fat chance though.

Dick and those stupid ample lips of his would tell him to fuck off and that if Jason even tried to leave without him, he’d hunt him down to the ends of the earth. Goddammit. Now the whole scene from last night was replaying in his head again. This was torture.

Somehow, he must’ve eventually have fallen asleep because he woke up to the sound of a creaking door and hallway brightened up by sunlight. Slade reared his ugly head like a mean cave troll, exiting the bedroom.

Their eyes met.

There was a terrible itch to get rid of the man right now. Particularly after the stunt he pulled yesterday.

Slade simply clicked his tongue at him and headed for the kitchen.

Well, awful morning to you too, asshole.

He got up and brushed some dust off of his pants. He was about to knock on Dick’s door when hesitation struck again. Would Dick even want to talk to him right now? He’d said goodnight but it’d clearly been rushed like he couldn’t wait to get away.

His fist lingered in the air.

Ah, screw it.

With two raps on the door, he knocked. No response. He tried again; this time harder. “Rise and shine, Dickie.”. He heard an affirmative grunt.

Suppose that’ll have to do.

When Dick eventually emerged, his hair was ruffled. Tiredly he rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times at the light in the hallway.

It was kinda cute.

A need to kiss him again emerged in full force.

He swallowed, trying his best to push it down, lock it into a vault and throw the key into an abyss.

“S’alright. Comin’.”, Dick slurred, brushing past him and nearly bumping shoulders, before sauntering into the kitchen.

Suddenly Slade was there, offering Dick a cup of water. He drank it all in one gulp.

“Thanks.”. Dick seemed to have perked up, giving Slade a small smile.

Pins and needles were prickling his skin again. Or scales. Whatever. It didn’t stop even as they headed over to Tim.

Tim was already awake when they arrived, busy brewing tea.

“There you are. I was about to head over to you myself. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”.

He was more than on board with that.

“There’s some bread and cheese over there if you’d like.”.

Dick sat down at the kitchen table while Slade snatched a piece of bread and made his way to the armchair. He just hovered near the doorway, leaning back against the wall.

“Alright. Slade’s been to the Pit before but you two haven’t. To be clear, neither have I. The knowledge I’m about to share is based on my parents’ observations and the objects they managed to bring back here.”.

He eyed them as if that might make them doubt his capabilities. Even if they did, they didn’t have much choice at this point.

“I’ve already told you about its chaotic nature. Getting there is really just the first part. You’ll then have to navigate the wastelands to find the actual Pit itself. I’m counting on Slade to help you with that.”.

Slade nodded.

“Now, the only way I’m aware of is using a key near a wheystone that’ll rip open up a small, temporary portal.”.

Tim briefly stopped pacing back and forth to fill some tea into his cup, like he hadn’t just spouted the weirdest shit at them.

“The problem with the key however, is that it’s bound to specific individuals. It’s what Ra’s soldiers use. The key is connected to their bodies somehow. If they die, the key vanishes with them. This is also why they tend to commit suicide upon capture. Just imagine the sheer work that’d go into locating and capturing one of them, then somehow force that soldier to open the gate for you. That’s one of the foremost reasons as to why the Pit has kept its mythological status for so long.”.

His brain already hurt. “Okay, so it’s a bust?”.

“Not exactly.”. Tim looked at them with an impish grin. “What if an outsider had already managed to get their hands on a key?”.

“And that would be you?”, Dick asked, tilting his head to the side with raised eyebrows.

“Not exactly. It was actually my dad that got hold of an original key.”.

“If the place is so well guarded and only Ra’s soldiers got the keys, how’d he pull that off?”.

“Well, his magic was strong. According to my mom, there was a time when some of Ra’s soldiers would use the wheystone in this forest. I have no idea what for. However, my dad became so fascinated by it that he eventually used a cloaking spell to follow them into their own portal. All I know after that is that he somehow infiltrated their headquarters and managed to procure a real key for himself. Ever since, his work became largely focused on the Pit and its extraordinary properties.”.

Tim looked away, the expression from his face turning sullen like it’d given him a bitter reminder.

“The point is that thanks to my dad’s original key, there was something to work with. My parents eventually cracked the manufacturing process somewhat. When I say somewhat, I mean they didn’t fully manage to create a new key. What they did do however, was duplicate it in such a manner that a portal could be opened for a limited amount of time. I won’t delve into the specifics but their research notes suggested that essentially an object from the Pit can be manipulated into channeling the same properties as the keys Ra’s soldiers use.

Tim gestured with his finger in the air, like a warning.

“The difference is that they only have a _one-time use,_ whereas the real keys can be used infinitely. Meaning you’d need two of these ‘temporary keys’ to get there and back. The notes don’t really point out how the real keys are made. It must be from another source than the materials dad brought back.”. 

He knew it might be a forbidden question, but he needed to know what had happened to them. Especially if they were involved in Pit-business.

“Did something happen in the Pit? To your parents?”.

Based on the way Dick stiffened and Tim went completely still, he figured he might’ve made a bad call. Tim’s face however, betrayed no feeling whatsoever.

“My dad went on another expedition to the Pit. He never came back.”.

Oh shit.

“My mom stayed with me. She never shared much about it, but it was fairly obvious that she’d realized that he’d been caught and killed by Ra’s al Ghul or one of his soldiers. She never went looking for him.”.

The blank expression on Tim’s face faltered at the end. He wanted to know why his mom wasn’t here right now but he figured he’d asked enough.

“Ra’s does not mess around. If you’re really going to do this, you need to be quick about it, just in and out. Just use the keys and get out of there prematurely if things go to hell.”.

Dick stood up. “Thanks, Tim. Really, if there’s any way we can pay you back-“.

“Don’t thank me just yet. I’ve only made an imitation key once and that was years ago for Slade.”.

He didn’t miss the stinkeye Tim sent Slade’s way. They were clearly not on amicable terms, making him wonder why Tim would be helping Slade at all?

“The research notes are rather unclear about how to steer where the portal manifests.”.

“That’s true.”, Slade chimed in. “There are several active wheystones inside the Pit, far more than out here. Naturally there are guards and patrols, such as in the location I ended up in. I took care of it, of course.”.

Oh, man. Now Slade was really ticking the kid off. Tim still graciously continued.

“I can produce the imitation keys for you but that’s it. At which wheystone your portal manifests will be purely based on luck. You need to be prepared for that.”.

Not the best of odds.

“But first up, let’s take a look at you. Follow me.”. He gestured at Jason and started walking towards the door.

“Uh, can’t you do it here?”.

Now he was on the receiving end of Tim’s stinkeye.

“No.”.

That’s all he got before Tim was at the doorway, waving at him to follow impatiently.

Dick started rising from the table when Tim cut in. “You stay here. The lab’s going to be full as it is.”.

Dick did a noble attempt to protest by stuttering out a “What, why?” but it was futile. Tim had already walked out the door.

He wanted to protest too. However, considering how touchy Tim was about his lab and the fact that he was kind of helping them out bigtime, it seemed like a simple enough request.

Especially since Dick still wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Alright then. Smell you later.”.

He hurried out of the house without looking back.

* * *

The laboratory turned out to be unlike the other houses. It was just one big room that was brightly lit, much more so than the others. There were some bookshelves with jars of various objects, some of them glowing, and a myriad of books. However, the bookshelves were much more spaced out compared to the house they’d slept in, giving the room a less cluttered feel.

Attached to the right wall were two workbenches, where Tim seemed to be tinkering with something. In the middle, there was a circular stone table, placed right under a particularly bright lightstone.

“Alright then. Let’s get started.”.

Tim started stomping over to him, clearly intent on something. Sudden images of prickling needles and Tim trying to cut him open to look inside flashed through his head.

“Whoa, mind telling me what’s gonna happen?”. He put his hands up in defense.

It actually made Tim stop in his tracks, eyeing Jason’s claws.

“I’m just going to scan you. That’s all.”.

Oh. He lowered his arms. “Alright.”.

There was an awkward silence as Tim stared at him motionlessly.

“Your cloak.”. Tim uttered before averting his eyes. 

Oh shit. Right. Tim gestured towards a chair where he could hang the cloak and sit down.

As soon as he was seated, Tim raised his arm carefully before gently pressing the palm against the center of Jason’s torso.

Nothing happened. Perhaps Tim wasn’t used to having an audience.

Then the kid furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes. Moments later, a shining light emitted from his hand, like smoke but brighter. The smoky light spread a bit further on his torso in a motion that looked like it was blooming. Meanwhile, Tim’s other hand trailed a feathery touch along Jason’s horn.

Suddenly Tim gasped and withdrew, eyes wide with shock.

That was quick. Tim stood there for a moment with his brows furrowed. Was it good or bad? He wanted to ask but the words got lodged in his throat.

Instead, he opted for a “You okay?”.

Tim seemed to snap back into focus and cleared his throat.

“Yeah… the energy in you is just…volatile. More so than anything from the Pit that I’ve previously encountered.”.

Jason must’ve looked like a question mark because Tim quickly started to explain. “There’s a particular concentration in your upper torso but it’s-…it’s _everywhere_.”.

Tim stopped and seemed to be pondering his next words.

“To put it bluntly, your body is already intertwined with the energy. Probably has been ever since your first transformation. The only way to stop it would be by separating you from the source fueling whatever spell did this. However, any separation from it at this stage might be…severe.”.

Not much of a surprise, considering it was directed at Bruce.

“Each transformation is going to cost you. It’d be good-”.

“How long have I got?”, he interrupted. That’s really all he needed to know.

Tim shrugged. “It depends. If you can keep further transformations from triggering, probably months, maybe half a year give or take.”.

Then Tim’s body relaxed and suddenly he was giving Jason the same look he’d given the dead griffin. Uh-oh.

“I wish there was something I could do to slow it down. I’m sorry.”.

Dick was right, Tim was genuinely nice, if he could look _that_ defeated over a guy he barely knew.

“You can stay here if you wish. That way, you don’t have to worry about harming other people.”.

“S’alright. Thanks.”. He flashed Tim a smile.

Tim tried again.

“Look, I don’t doubt your capacity for self-control. But that _vile_ energy will force exacerbated emotional responses out of the noblest of knights. Further transformations will be inevitable.”.

“Really, I appreciate it. I’ll handle it.”.

He hadn’t noticed it but now the damn pulsating was back, plaguing his chest.

He started walking, only making it a few steps before Tim’s voice halted him again.

“Wait, there’s one more thing.”.

Damn, the door had just been a few steps away.

“Be wary of Slade. He’s definitely not the type of guy to escort a helpless soul out of altruism. If it weren’t for the fact that he knows his ways around the Pit, I’d advise you to ditch him.”.

He snorted and turned around halfway towards Tim. “Preaching to the choir. But thanks for the heads up.”

Speaking of which.

“Why?”.

Tim looked nonplussed.

“Why help us, if he’s giving you such bad vibes?”, he elaborated, the question that had nagged his mind.

Tim’s frowny face was back on, lips pursing as if he was tasting something bad. He turned away and walked over to his workbench, seemingly ignoring the question.

“…he approached me a couple of years back. Claimed to be an acquaintance of my parents. I didn’t question it back then. He knew things about them and their work that I assumed they’d only share with someone close.”.

Tim stopped for a brief moment, seemingly to take a deep breath.

“Either way, we had a goal. We were going to unlock the secrets of the Pit and find a way to bring about the end of Ra’s Al Ghul’s reign, just like my parents wanted. Looking back at it, it’s quite obvious that he was playing me like a fiddle. All he truly cared about was getting to the Pit. When he came back, he just called the whole thing a failure and left.”.

Involuntarily, Jason gritted his teeth. “Sounds like the same scumbag I know”, he muttered.

Tim simply nodded and leaned back towards his workbench, crossing his arms.

“That said, I have no quarrel with him. It was a helpful distraction at the time.”, he shrugged.

Distraction from what? No, fuck it. He wasn’t going to press the kid more on that issue.

Only one thing left then.

“What about us?”.

“Well, I figured the sooner I help you, the quicker he’ll be out of here. And to be fair, you are quite an interesting specimen.”, Tim smirked.

Cheeky but reasonable enough. He’d have bought the whole thing if Tim hadn’t shown that sappy face before. There was also the unnatural amount of effort he was putting into it. This was definitely a sucker for people in need.

Which might be exactly what he needs right now.

“Tim….”. He got an inquisitive gaze in response.

“I think there’s something you could help me with after all.”.

* * *

“Wait, there’s an actual _lake_?”.

He did his best to not stare at the exposed torso as Slade pulled off his shirt, instead focusing on the scowl adorning his face.

“What’d exactly did you expect when I specifically told you: We’re going down to the lake?”.

“I dunno. I figured it was a code for ‘Grayson, we need to talk somewhere private’ “.

Slade didn’t seem to appreciate the imitation of his voice, judging by the sharp glare. It was impressive how many nuances of menacing this man’s face could produce.

Once he’d divested all of his clothes besides underwear, he stopped to look at Dick again. “What’re you waiting for?”.

“Maybe I’m feeling modest.”. He shrugged as casually as he could.

Slade actually snorted in a way that seemed like he was holding back a small laugh. He didn’t miss the quirk of the man’s lips though. “Your loss. The mountain water flowing down here really does have healing properties.”.

He had to look away when Slade removed his final piece of clothing. “Sure it’s not just that healing factor of yours?”.

“I’ve been here with Tim. It helped heal the bruises he got from tangling with pixies”.

His head whipped around so quick there might as well have been a fire. “There’s _pixies?!_ ”.

Slade was already wading into the water with his back to him, seemingly ignoring everything. Typical.

Slade took his sweet time, dipping and washing each part of his body. Before he knew it, he was watching the way the water droplets ran down the man’s skin. He didn’t doubt for a second that Slade was putting on a show. They’d played around like this before, teasing each other.

Not this time though. Getting in with Slade would be far too dangerous. He perched himself on a nearby rock. The goal was to look at anywhere but Slade, besides the occasional sneak-peek now and then.

He had to keep tabs on the man, didn’t he?

The forest around them was so different from the one in Gotham or the ones he’d seen so far in Metropolis. The trees had that ancient feel to them, particularly from their monstrous size and patches of moss growing on the bark. Yet they were teeming with life, judging by the wild and lush green leaves sprouting on every branch. It truly was like being in an alternate universe. Especially if this place had beings such as pixies and griffins. Why was it so different and a home for such creatures? It’d been haunting him ever since they got here. He really needed to ask Tim about it.

Something wet clutching at his wrist broke him straight out of his reveries. He instinctively tried to move away while lashing out with his fist. That one was blocked and caught in another’s hand.

“Holy crap!”. The yell came out in a slightly higher pitch than intended. 

Naturally, it was none other than Slade, who looked unimpressed at his flailing. What the hell, he _should_ have heard him approach through the water, even if he’d moved slowly. This sneaky bastard. Besides, he hadn’t even looked away for that long, surely.

Now the man was looming over him like he’d goddamn teleported. Naked at that. Very naked.

“Good to see you’re still awake. Now seriously, hop in. Might be your last chance for a while.”.

Just like that, Slade let go of his hands and walked back towards his pile of clothes and gear.

He couldn’t even quip back at Slade for being so overly concerned with his hygiene. So much for keeping his guard up.

He let out a small cough and tried not to fumble while undressing, making sure to keep Slade in view from the corner of his eye. Slade kept busy wiping off the excess water from his body with a small piece of cloth and putting on clothes.

The water did feel great. A bit on the chilly side but oh so refreshing as he dived in. All the specks of dust and dirt just melted off his body.

The best part was simply floating and taking in the sight of the tree crowns and sky above.

In case he didn’t make it out of the Pit, this might be his last time enjoying it like this. He’d always liked observing the night sky before falling asleep but daytime could be just as beautiful, the way the sunlight filtered through the trees and a few white clouds dotted the heavens.

He sunk below the surface a bit, allowing the cool water to envelop him whole.

If-… _when_ they made it back, he’d make sure to do it again. Together with Jason.

When he emerged from the water, Slade seemed oddly relaxed, sitting on the beach and sharpening one of his blades slowly with a small whetstone. All he got was a glance before Slade returned to his work. He lifted it up and inspected the edge, dragging a finger against it. Blood welled up from the tip almost immediately. When Slade wiped it away, the wound had already closed up.

“How do you wager our chances?”, he asked while borrowing Slade’s cloth to wipe off the water.

Slade put the blade down. “Not great. There’s a lot of factors that put us at a disadvantage. Then there’s of course the matter with Todd.”. Slade stood up, sheathing his blade.

“What about it?”. He froze slightly, just as he put on his underwear. 

Slade fixated his eye on him.

“I know you must’ve considered it as well. If he can transform this much away from the Pit, what do you will happen when he’s in close to the real thing? The Pit isn’t a natural place, Grayson. Its energy runs wild there, even tainting the skies and the very earth we’ll walk on. It will affect him, one way or the other.”.

It made his blood boil, the way Slade looked at him with pity. Like he was already offering him his condolences.

“We don’t know that for sure. Anyway, it won’t be a problem because we’ll get him to the Pit in time. It’ll heal him.”.

Slade looked like he wanted to argue his point, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

The anger left as quickly as it had risen. It was just stupid, directing it toward Slade. He couldn’t help the weary sigh that escaped him, his hand automatically coming up to rub and cover his face. He had to believe they’d save Jason. Any other option wasn’t acceptable.

When he opened his eyes, Slade had moved closer. Fingers brushed against the skin on his hip.

“You’re not going to take advantage of me. Not now.”.

It came out firm and he made sure to look Slade in the eye.

Slade seemed unperturbed. “You’re right. I won’t.”.

Despite his words, Slade took hold of him and pulled him in. Like a…hug? Oh. What the hell? Slade held his head against his shoulder, lightly stroking his wet hair.

“Um, this is weird. And cozy. I suppose…”. Slade snorted but kept holding onto him tightly.

For some weird reason, he didn’t resist it but rather leaned into it. It was nice, the way Slade moved his hand through his hair and moved it down to rub his neck. Then there was the solid frame of Slade’s body enveloping him and soft puffs of breaths Slade let out against the top of his head.

Before he got his mind out of the gutter, Slade had already pulled away gently. He brushed some hair strands out of his face, making his insides flutter weirdly. Slade’s lips were curled into a small smile that he couldn’t help but respond to with one of his own.

“I know you’re not doing this out of charity but thank you. Really, without you Jason might never even have stood a chance.”.

The small smile vanished and Slade’s face hardened. “That’s correct. I’ll take you there. And you’ll _follow_ , regardless of the outcome.”.

The emphasis on ‘follow’ was sharp like a knife. Yet again, something bitter swirled up from inside.

“I’m not bound to you. We’re not even _there_ yet. And I _won’t_ leave him until I know he’s safe.”.

They both knew this. What was there even to argue about? 

Slade’s hand shot out as quick as a viper and gripped his jaw. Tight. This close, he hadn’t had a chance of stopping it besides from grabbing onto Slade’s wrist with his own hand.

Slade stared him down. Was he angry? Or was this some stupid attempt at establishing dominance? This wasn’t exactly the first time he’d challenged him, he had to be aware that this type of powerplay wouldn’t work on him. So why?

Just like earlier, he looked like he wanted to say something. But no words came out. Instead, Slade smashed their mouths together. It was just a hard press of lips at the beginning.

Whatever this was, he wasn’t going to reciprocate. Slade kept slotting their lips together but gentler now. He nipped at his lips, his hands busy with holding onto his hip and jaw painfully hard. Eventually, the pressure made him let out a pained groan. Slade used that opportunity to press closer and deepen the kiss.

He retaliated by biting the damn tongue that started exploring his mouth. Slade grunted loudly and withdrew. He still kept his hand on his jaw but pulled away his face to wipe away a few droplets of blood at his mouth with the other hand. Naturally, his wound had already healed just like before.

He expected him to be pissed, adrenaline washing over him, ready for a fight.

However, Slade just looked irritatingly calm and even smirked a bit.

“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t do this.”, he bit out.

Slade got close again but relaxed the grip on Dick’s jaw, rubbing circles with his thumb. “I’m not. If I was taking advantage of you for real, you’d know.”.

He nearly replied ‘Would I?’ but stopped himself.

“Is this funny to you then? To rile me up?”.

Slade seemed to be calculating his reply, staring quietly at Dick first. “I’d be lying if I said no. But also if I simply said yes.”.

“Why do I even bother?”, he huffed in annoyance. Trying to pry Slade’s hand from his jaw turned out to be difficult when the grip tightened again and wouldn’t budge.

Slade just kept looming over him like a predator about to pounce. “I could ask you the same thing after pulling that stunt yesterday.”.

His heartrate picked up at the sudden mention of last night. Then the implication of what Slade was saying hit him, making him pound his fist against Slade’s shoulder.

“Are you out of your damn mind? You think I’d do _that_ just to spite you? Use my own family for shit’s sake? For what, some petty payback?”.

There was only so much bullshit he could take. He poked Slade’s chest to enunciate his point.

“Believe it or not, my world doesn’t revolve around you.”.

Not anymore, at least.

“Does it revolve around Todd then? Whether our mission succeeds or fails, are you really going to uphold your end of the bargain?”.

“Yes! Geez, haven’t I made that clear already?”.

“Good.”.

Slade finally let go and backed off. It was as if the tension just seeped right out of him, his posture relaxing and once more with a neutral face.

Now he simply stood there with his arms crossed. The whole thing was so infuriating that he had to resist the urge to shake the man, asking why there’d even been an issue in the first place.

“Get dressed.”. 

“Yessir.” He did a sloppy salute and put on the remaining clothing, refusing to look at Slade.

Whatever this had been about, he’d have to figure it out later.

* * *

When Dick and Slade approached from the forest, he didn’t even try to mask his rage. He stampeded over to them in a heartbeat.

“What the hell?!”. His arms flew up. 

Dick had the nerve to look confused, mouth open. He cut him off before he had the chance to ask.

“You decide to walk out into a monster-infested forest _without a fucking word_?! Couldn’t bother to leave one tiny message like ‘We’re heading out, so no need to worry about me getting eaten or worse’?”.

Dick’s mouth made an O-shape. Then the excuses came gushing out. “We were just headed down to the lake nearby, you were busy with Tim and we weren’t going to be gone for long. I didn’t think it’d be a problem. Besides, I wasn’t alone.”.

He held onto his chest with his hands in feigned relief. “Aww, that settles it, yeah? No need to worry at all, since you got your _kidnapper_ to cover you.”. 

He pointed at Slade, who had the nerve to roll his eye.

“I’m sorry, Jay.”.

To his credit, Dick did look genuinely bothered. What the hell, if Damian or anyone had run off like this, Dick would have been just as livid.

The only upside to this was Dick finally meeting his eyes again.

The anger didn’t dissipate, even when he tried to reach into his inner space and pull out just a shred of calm.

‘Exacerbated emotional responses’, Tim had said. Yeah, no kidding. Might explain why the urge to rip Slade’s ribcage open was so strong right now. Or his desire to beat into Dick’s skull that he needed to keep his damn guard up. Slade was sure to exploit whatever opening Dick left him.

He stomped off before Dick got another word in. Any more arguments and it might trigger a freaking transformation.

Once back at the top, Tim bounced over to them from the laboratory.

“It’s done.”.

Tim was holding six small stones clutched in his hands. There seemed to be several smaller green gems embedded into the stones, like emeralds.

“These are ore samples that my father retrieved from the Pit. They will act as the imitation keys. Remember, each stone can only be used _once_. After that, they’ll disintegrate. The portal won’t be open for long either so act quickly.”.

He handed out sets of two stones each to them.

“Really Tim, you’ve gone above and beyond. And if these are from your dad…are you really sure it’s okay for us to take these?”.

Dick seemed to once again be taken aback by Tim’s kindness.

“Don’t worry about it. My father brought back piles of these from his trips. And it’s not like I get to use them very often.”.

Tim gave Dick’s shoulder a friendly bump, to which Dick responded with a beaming smile.

“Just don’t let them go to waste, yeah?”.

Dick nodded.

“Alright then, get your stuff and follow me.”.

They quickly gathered their weapons and any items from their packs that might be of use. There were some provisions left but Tim added some extra pieces of dried meat, bread and cheese to their satchels. “In case it takes longer than expected.”, was all he said.

As they started following Tim through the forest, his fingers were shaking a little, insides thrumming, either from excitement or nervousness. Probably both. This whole freak show was finally about to be over, one way or the other.

He glanced at Dick, whose face was tightly knit in concentration.

If only he could convey some kind of reassurance that things would be okay. However, he had to keep his mouth shut. He couldn’t let Dick suspect that anything was out of the ordinary.

There was that weird, pulsating sensation from within his chest again. It was slow and rhythmic. He couldn’t stop himself from clutching at his chest. His movement made Dick cast him a worried look. He dropped his hand immediately and tried to look casual.

He’d laid it out like a dying wish to Tim, who caved almost immediately. There was a pang of guilt over using Tim like that but it was necessary. This was his fight. Had been ever since he decided to put himself between Bruce and that mage. Gotham however, still needs Dick. That’s why his keystones needed to be fake.

Tim did point out that it would devastate Dick. Maybe for a moment, but Tim would be there. Once Dick returned to Gotham, he’d also have Barbara, Alfred, Damian, Bruce and Jim to get him through the motions. They’d do alright without him.

Tim had promised that he wouldn’t let Dick come after them, no matter how persistent he’d be.

Now if only Tim could have given Slade a one-way key it’d have been perfect. However, that’s where Tim drew the line. He’d never trap someone inside the Pit. _Never_ , he’d emphasized and that was the end of that discussion.

Which was absolutely fine. He was planning on getting rid of Slade anyways.

Their little march through the forest came to an abrupt stop at a meadow, with a small hill. When they circled it, there was a kind of black rock perched in the middle of it, embedded in the hill with ivy vines wrapped around it.

Tim walked up to it and brushed some of the vines aside. There seemed to be some kind of inscriptions. Definitely not a language he was familiar with, that’s for sure. 

Tim turned back towards them with a grim expression. “Here’s the wheystone. Hope you’re all ready for this. Remember what I’ve said.”.

 _Showtime_. The jittery feeling came back in full force. He took out one of the stones from the satchel and shook it experimentally.

“So uh, is there a magic word to get this thing working? Abracadabra? Shazam?”.

Tim frowned, clearly not amused. “Slade, show them.”.

Slade sauntered up just a few feet in front of the stone, taking out a knife from the sheath strapped around his right leg. He made a tiny cut on his finger, letting a few drops of blood land on the small keystone in his hand, landing on the gems, before the wound healed. He then held up the stone in front of him.

At first, nothing happened. He was about to comment when suddenly the inscriptions on the wheystone started glowing green. The air in front of Slade began to distort itself. Smudges of green tainted the air and soon it was no longer transparent. A hole had taken its place, where green energy warped and swirled inwardly while making crackling noises.

Tim backed further away from them. “Now you two, follow Slade’s lead.”.

Strings like thin appendages of the green energy emerged and enveloped Slade. His body started to disintegrate into small pieces like grain, starting from the feet. The grain-like dust was sucked into the portal. Slade didn’t seem bothered by it though and just let it happen.

Both he and Dick gaped at the horrifying scene as the portal devoured Slade until he was out of sight.

“C’mon. Just aim them at the wheystone. Just a drop of blood will be enough to activate them and connect you to the Pit.”.

With the scales in the way of cutting his finger, Jason settled for using his claw to open up a small wound on his neck and smearing some of the blood on the small stone. Dick copied Slade, using the edge of his sword, holding his hand above the stone and letting a few drops of blood fall on it.

This was it. They were both holding up the stones next to each other. Once he’d entered his portal, he’d crush the stone and close the portal behind him, then deal with Slade and his remaining stone. The pulsating sensation within increased, beating more rapidly. It was like an adrenaline rush, only more intense.

The urge to look at Dick one last time itched like crazy. Like the stupid idiot he was, he nearly squeezed the stone too hard. Way to play it cool.

The air in front of him started rippling. Just like before, small flickers of green energy started smudging his view and popping out of nowhere. He lowered his arm and watched the horrible phenomenon unfold.

However, before the portal had fully manifested, something grabbed onto his hand.

“Jay, real quick. I’m sorry about before.”.

He tried to shake Dick’s hand off but he wouldn’t let go.

“Uh, no worries. It’s okay. Focus on your portal, man.”. Dick’s other arm was still raised, waiting for his own portal to appear in front of him. Meanwhile, his eyes were glued to Jason’s face.

“No, you have to know in case…in case things go sideways in there. Not just about leaving without a word but also about last night. I didn’t mean to avoid you, alright? It just…”.

Dick averted his gaze for a bit before sucking in a deep breath and looking back at him.

“…kinda shook me off balance. But if- _when_ we get back, let’s talk about it okay? I’m not running from you. Or this, for that matter. I meant what I said, about how much you mean to all of us. To _me_.”.

Dick squeezed his hand and practically beamed at him with his stupid smile. Damn it all to hell. _Seriously_. He couldn’t keep his lips from quirking upwards, as he soaked in the image of Dick smiling at him for the last time.

Green appendages appeared out of the now fully manifested portal. It started wrapping itself around him and he saw his feet starting to disintegrate, just like Slade.

To his great horror, the very same thing was happening to Dick. How the ever-living fuck? There was only one portal! He gaped and whipped his head at Tim, who was standing behind Dick and looked just as shocked. Tim looked downward at his lower body.

Following Tim’s cue, he also looked down.

The disintegration had nearly reached their waists but then he saw it. Dick’s hand around his, the very same hand holding the stone. The blood from Dick’s wound that had dribbled down and gotten on it.

He must’ve looked terrified because Dick shook his hand and asked what was wrong.

It was too late. He couldn’t do anything but watch both their bodies disappear, haunted by the echo of Dick’s voice as everything turned dark. 


	6. The Emerald Dream

His eyelids fluttered open.

Teleporting had just taken a second but it was enough to make his organs all gooey. A prickling sensation ran through him as if the limbs had been asleep. The whole thing was nauseating and had him gulping for air.

Dick’s miserable groan told him the sentiment was shared.

“Ugh, a warning would’ve been nice. Damn, that was gross.”.

Dick’s hand shivered against his. Without thinking, he gave it a light squeeze.

Dick’s answered with a small squeeze of his own before his fingers slid away, letting go. He turned and asked “Are you al-“before oddly stopping mid-sentence.

“No, but I will be once this bullshit’s over with.”.

Okay, now Dick was looking at him like he’d grown a third horn. Which was weirdly plausible these days.

“Jason. Your eyes.”.

Goddammit.

”Lemme guess. They’re doing that green, glowy thing?”.

Dick nodded.

“The Pit’s influence, no doubt. Be good and let us know if you feel a sudden urge to claw something to death, will you?”. Slade drawled, voice lower than usual. That didn’t stop him from still sounding like the same condescending jerk he was.

“That’d be a problem. You see, these babies?” He held up his clawed hands. “They can sense whenever there are assholes nearby.”. For effect, he clenched and unclenched the hands. “They can’t help but wanna lash out whenever someone like that gets near. Sorry.”. He shrugged.

Neither Dick and Slade looked the least amused.

Still worth it.

Now that the jarring after-effects of the teleportation were wearing off, he could finally take in the surroundings. Everything seemed to be a barren wasteland. The rocky ground beneath their feet looked as if it’d been blackened by a scorching fire. The wheystone in front of them looked just as black and dusty from the sand. The visibility was poor, obscured in every direction by a dim, green-tinted mist. It also hid whatever was brightening up the sky. Did this place even have a sun?

There was an odd, absolute silence over the place. Apart from the noise of gravel crunching as they shuffled their feet while looking around, there was nothing. No skittering animals, cooing birds or even sound of the wind blowing. It was uncomfortably reminiscent of that dream with the green flame.

Even though Slade kept his voice low it still cut through the silence like a shout.

“Seems like we were fortunate. No guards at this one. Just stay sharp. Keep talking to a minimum.”.

To make things even better he added grimly “Also, watch your footsteps. The paths here are treacherous. One wrong step and you boys might find yourself falling straight into one of the pits.”.

With that, Slade started walking. He was tempted to call bullshit on Slade being able to navigate them through this place. There weren’t exactly any visible landmarks. Then Dick patted his arm before trailing after Slade. As he walked past, he could see Dick’s grip on the handle of his sword.

Shit. Dick being here threw a giant wrench in his plans. Maybe he could grab him, force Dick to go through the teleportation ritual again by using the stone he still had left in his satchel?

However, Dick was sure to oppose it and Slade would happily interrupt. It could trigger further transformations, maybe even make him lose control.

Think, think, _think_. Get Dick alone at another wheystone and force him to teleport there? No, he didn’t like the odds. They might not find another one. Tell Dick he regrets the whole thing and go back together? Fuck, he’d never agree to that.

“You coming, Jay?”. Dick was already several yards away, standing next to Slade, who was gauging Jason carefully with his single, shark-like eye.

Dammit. His feet remained rooted in place, harrowed by doubt. Do or don’t. If he had to make a decision…

He went with his instincts.

He’d keep Dick close. _Real close_. And as much as it hurt to admit, Slade’s freaky fixation on Dick meant that he wouldn’t let anyone else harm him either. Probably. Maybe.

The walk was quiet. Excruciatingly so. Time moved slower than an old snail about to kick the bucket. In reality, they’d probably just walked for about half an hour but it felt like _hours_ , with big fat emphasis on the plural.

It was impossible to keep completely quiet with the constant shuffling of gravel beneath their feet. Him in particular, with his added body weight from the scales, crunched them extra hard.

Worst of all though was the quaking within his chest. It got worse the further they went. Sometimes the quaking would be interrupted by a pulse. The pulsating sensation slowly increased in strength each time it occurred and eventually he had to clutch at his chest. He tried to keep his breath even but it got harder as they pressed on.

Suddenly, Dick stopped in front of him.

“Is it just me or is the ground getting hotter?”. Dick kept the tone of his voice low. He himself hadn’t felt any temperature changes as they’d walked. On the other hand, his feet weren’t exactly human anymore.

He quickly dropped his hand from his chest as Dick turned around halfway.

“It’s because we’re getting close.”, was Slade’s hushed response.

“Really? How can you tell?”.

“The pits are more frequent.”.

He hadn’t registered it then but come to think of it now, the number of small green pools they’d passed had increased in number. He’d nearly stepped in one when another panging pulse had risen in his chest.

“It’s that simple?”. It came out louder than intended. After all the silence, it was almost like a yell. At least, that’s what the grumpy looks Dick and Slade threw his way told him.

He repeated, this time more quietly. “Really, that simple? You could’ve _told us_ that all we needed to do was follow the amount of green pools to navigate this shithole.”.

It was impressive how Slade strode over to him so quickly yet quietly. Dick moved just as fast, positioning himself between them before Slade could get close enough. “If you think that’s all there is to this place, you’re in over your head _boy_.”, he growled.

All right, game on.

However, he didn’t get to reply as Dick gestured at him to shut the hell up. “Focus, for crying out loud.”, he hissed out.

Suddenly Slade seemed awfully smug behind Dick’s shoulder. “Good thing Grayson’s here to keep you in line. Don’t you agree?”. The smugness seethed through every syllable. Even Dick raised his eyebrow at the tone and glanced quizzically at Slade.

Oh, the shitty rat bastard, he _knew_.

He wasn’t sure how Slade had figured it out, but that smug look told him everything. The bastard definitely knew what had transpired back before teleporting. Another pulse went through him. This time he couldn’t hide his reaction from Dick. It was so intense that he had to bend over a bit while clutching at the chest. 

“You okay?”.

Shit. Dick’s frowny, worried face was back in full force. He had to get his breathing under control before he could reply. Dick reached for him but abruptly pulled his hand back as something whirled past between them. It landed and embedded itself into the ground.

The object was a knife, with green-glowing inscriptions.

“Get back!”, Slade yelled. He headed for Dick but Dick was already lunging for Jason. Dick pulled at his arm and they shuffled backward. The knife exploded into a small blast of green fire, like a firebomb. 

A second knife hit his chest. However, the scales deflected it and it fell to the ground. Yet it did the same thing as the other knife. This time it was too close. He grabbed Dick by the arm and flung him aside onto the ground.

The knife exploded.

He heard Dick yell but it was distant.

Shit, if he’d known this was going to happen, he’d have at least tried to send Dick back rather than go down in a fight with Ra’s stupid goons. It was bright, making him close his eyes as the green fire erupted from his chest.

A few seconds passed. Still no scorching pain. No smell of burnt off skin. He had to blink twice, wondering if his body had become temporarily numb. Yet there were no visible wounds, just the front of his cloak that had been burnt and torn. He ripped the entire thing, flinging the cloak to the ground.

Finally, some perks to this damned curse.

Slade was already engaging with the enemy, throwing knives right back before charging at them. Dick stood frozen. 

“I’m fine, go!”, he yelled.

Dick seemed to quickly regain his composure, following Slade into battle with his sword drawn. He followed suit.

They were faced with four female soldiers. They had the same pale complexion as the one they’d encountered back at the castle. This time they seemed to be in their rightful uniforms, as they all wore black robes with light armor on their shoulder and chest. Half of their faces were covered by black masks.

They gave up on throwing the explosive daggers and drew their weapons when Slade was upon them. Two of them had to desperately block the flurry of Slade’s swords, as he switched between the two targets. He got in a well-placed kick and one of the women was thrown back. The other managed to stab his shoulder but that didn’t deter Slade.

One of the four women, who was not engaging with Slade, backed away and started chanting. The carvings on her saber blade lit up with a green flame.

She circled Slade and eventually lunged but Dick got in the way and blocked her attack.

However, the flame of her swords seemed to cut into and melt away the metal of Dick’s longsword.

“Are you freaking kidding me?”, Dick uttered in disbelief before immediately evading to the side as the saber cut through completely. Drops of melted metal poured down the half of the sword that remained in his hand. Given its state, Dick dropped it and settled for fighting unarmed. The saber-wielding woman didn’t give him much of a pause, swinging her blade even more aggressively now that he’d lost his weapon. 

The fourth woman was circling the others like a hawk, looking for an opening. She too chanted and stroked her spear, causing the blade to emit the same green glow that her other comrade had summoned. When she stilled, it was clear that she’d settled on the now unarmed Dick as a target.

She was going to regret that. _Badly_.

She saw Jason coming a mile away. For a moment, she seemed to be considering getting in a strike on Dick but changed into a defensive stance as he lunged for her. She evaded his attack easily when he struck out with his claws. 

A gurgle was heard and a thump. Slade must’ve disposed of one of his opponents. None of the women’s comrades even paused during their battle, seemingly undisturbed by the death of one of their own.

Dick was doing an impressive amount of acrobatics to get out of the way of the swift strikes from his opponent but it was clear that he was having a hard time.

He wanted to back him up but for the damn witch he was fighting wouldn’t go down. He wasn’t that much slower than before but he felt like an elephant trying to dance with a snake. She slithered away from every attack, wisely keeping him at a distance. Each blow she landed bounced off his scales, although one of her strikes had come close to taking his head clean off.

It hurt to breathe. The pulsing inside his chest was constant now. He couldn’t focus properly and evade her blows fully. At this rate, she was bound to land a critical hit. The weird energy inside was invigorating, like a rush. This time though, it was too much. Each surge of energy surging through his body made him dizzy.

“Slade!... Do you mi-…goddammit!”, Dick tried but the flurry of unending blows from his opponent didn’t give him any breathers.

Slade seemed to have understood his thoughts anyway. “Coming right up. Look sharp.”.

Before anyone could realize what was happening, Slade threw one of his swords. The trajectory seemed completely off though.

However, Dick dodge-rolled past his opponent and leaped through the air like he was flying. His opponent was quick to follow but Dick was quicker. The clanging sound of blades crashing against one another made it clear that Dick had managed to block her onslaught.

Something slashed at his cheek, causing a stream of blood to dribble down. The strikes were growing more precise. He still hadn’t managed to make a single scratch on his opponent.

Shit…everything just hurt.

His vision was getting hazy. The bloodlust was there and all he wanted to do was rip her apart. Why was it so different this time? Why did his back felt like it was going to break? He weakly deflected a strike with one of his arms but the woman kept up her barrage of attacks. The flames from the spear sparked with each strike. She never paused even for a second to catch her breath.

There was a pained grunt from one of the women and something thumped to the ground. Another one down.

The spear came flying at his head, forcing him to focus again. He dodged in the nick of time. It flew past his head and cluttered to the ground. He barely registered her pulling out another dagger before she was up in his face. She managed to sidestep him and got halfway behind him. He wouldn’t be able to twist away in time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her jump at him with the dagger raised. 

The pain in his back exploded and for a moment he was _blind_.

He never felt the woman land on his back or any dagger in his neck for that matter. But the pain was excruciating and he didn’t even try to contain the scream that ripped out of him as he collapsed on his knees. All he heard was the blood rushing in his ears and his heart beating rapidly. _Thump. Thump. Thump._ All in quick succession.

“-ason. Jason!”. Dick yelling again. Dick’s yell wasn’t the only thing filtering into his ears. There was a gurgling nearby.

The pain abated into a more smoldering sensation. He could wrench his eyes open. Things were still a blur, even when he blinked to clear his vision. He tried to get up something was weighing down his back. 

“- to step back.”. Was that Slade talking?

“-not dangerous. Stop-“.

Holy crap, even the smallest motion like clenching his hand hurt. He had to blink and steel himself before he could turn his head.

There seemed to be some sort of argument. Slade was holding onto Dick’s arm. Dick looked agitated. Damn it, was he harassing him again?

He groaned and turned around to look at what was weighing him down from behind. The sight made him temporarily forget the pain, no _everything._

Behind him was something sharp and pointy. A long red limb with scales. At the end was the woman he’d been fighting earlier, impaled by the…the… _tail_. Just hanging there, lifted into the air. He had a freaking tail. Which he’d just stabbed somebody with. But he didn’t remember ever feeling the limb or making it do that. 

“Oh shit…fuck…nono…”. He scrambled away in a frenzy to get away from it. The tail dropped to the ground and the woman with it. The sharp end of his tail ripped out of her and was dragged along the ground as he crawled away, leaving a trail of blood.

Dick tore his arm away from Slade and ran up to him. Damn idiot, he needed to stay away. He tried to say that but his mouth was completely dry. 

When Dick approached, the tail whipped out and wrapped around one of his legs.

Each of them froze.

It tugged at the leg. Slade moved but Dick raised his hand to stop him.

“It’s alright! I got this. _We_ got this.”.

His eyes never left Jason, looking at him with that stupid absolute trust. For fuck sake, whatever mechanism that induced a sense of self-preservation must’ve been removed from him at birth.

If he killed Dick -

Just like that, the tail loosened its grip, slithering back behind him on its own accord.

What the hell? Why couldn’t he control the damn thing?!

Through the haze, he wanted to tell Dick what an asshole he is for not staying away. But all that came out of his mouth were rapid breaths.

“Just let me…remember to breathe, Jay. I’ll just…sit down here. Okay?”. Dick had walked up to him and scuffled around until he could kneel beside him. He seemed hesitant but eventually put a hand on his shoulder and kept it there. 

“So, uh, you remember that time we snuck out to the carnival and Alfred caught you on the way back? When me and Barbara ran like hell? Sorry about that. But it was totally worth it, right? The fireworks and-“. 

Dick kept talking but he zoned in and out. It was soothing but it was kind of hard to ignore the spikes of pain. The chaos in his mind also gave way to exhaustion. He just wanted to shut down for a minute but the pain kept prodding at his bones, his skull, his fucking everything. His damn lower spine twitched in agony.

He just closed his eyes, waiting for it all to be over.

Then finally, his breathing started to even out. The pain and pulsating sensation remained but to a lesser extent. Things became clear again and the sensation of a new limb stopped feeling so foreign. It became more like a third arm attached to his back, only a bit heavier and longer. Most importantly, just like with his own arms he realized that he _could_ control its movements. He probably just hadn’t registered it before when the pain wreaked havoc in his head. Most likely, he’d just gotten lucky and caught the woman by surprise when it grew out of him.

Thank the fuck to all that is holy.

He zoned back in time to hear Slade murmur “The longer we stay, the more likely it’ll be that we run into another patrol. Or backup.”.

“Just give him a sec.”. 

He couldn’t bear to look Dick in the eyes when he finally rose to his feet. Dick carefully pulled his hand back.

“I’m good…I just…yeah.”. He what? What was he supposed to say?

No words came out and he just walked away, not really bothering to check with Slade. He just went towards the first nearby pit that he could see.

Neither of the others called out so he just assumed it was the right direction.

The abnormal quaking in his chest told him they needed to get a move on or this wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

“I take it this is the place”.

Dick didn’t sound too happy about it.

They’d walked for what must’ve been a couple of hours. He tried to hurry along but still ended up slowing the others down with the frequent bursts of pain.

Now they were standing atop of a cliff looking down at the surreal sight of a black castle, shielded walls that were adorned with big, fat black spikes. Who the hell would even think to build a castle and live in this shithole? Nothing but fog and shitty wasteland. It was kind of funny, how menacing the place looked. It must’ve been built using the scorched, black rocks. The surrounding green mist made it seem even more nefarious. The grounds surrounding the castle were like marshlands, littered with green pits. He didn’t think a castle could be classified as evil but here it was, giving him the middle finger and showing that he didn’t know shit.

Movements caught his eye, tiny stick figures in the distance that moved around near the big black gate.

“How are we supposed to sneak in like this?”. He hissed in exasperation.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way?”, Dick offered. Geez. If only his eyeballs could roll into his skull. 

“We’re not sneaking in.”, came Slade’s reply.

They both whipped their heads towards him in shock.

“S’cuse me?”. Dick was just as confused as him.

“We’re walking in through the front gate.”.

Man, he knew Slade was a crazy bastard but this was a bit far-fetched even for him.

“In what world would that count as a good idea?”.

It was a legit question, yet Slade looked at him as if he was a complete moron. “In the one where we achieve what we actually came here for. You’ll never reach the Pit without going through Ra’s.”.

“And knocking on his front door is the best way to confront him? Did this mist make you high or something? We barely beat four of his soldiers. How are we going to beat a whole castle full of ‘em? And Ra’s on top of that?”.

“You mean _you_ could barely beat them. You know, you’re welcome to stay here if you’re not up to the task.”.

It was just a simple taunt. He knew just to ignore it. Yet something scratched his nerves, irking the hell out of him.

“In your dreams, shitty old man.”. 

The shitty old man in question just quirked his lips in a small wolfish grin.

Damn madman.

“Actually Slade, I have to agree. I fail to see the strategic value in mowing our way through that castle, even if we manage to get inside.”. Dick gestured at the castle.

It wiped the smirk off Slade’s face, once more turning cool as ice.

“It’s a gamble, yes. But I intend to offer him something he’ll find it hard to refuse.”.

“And what’s that?”.

“An opportunity to invade Gotham and kill Wayne for starters. Also, the safety of this realm. He knows what’s at stake. Turning me away would be foolish.”.

It stunned them into silence. Where to even begin?

Dick was the first one to break the silence. “Why’s he going after Bruce?”. Dick didn’t even sound upset about it, just resigned. “You know what, nevermind. We’ll deal with it later. How exactly are you going to account for having two members of his family with you?”.

Slade pointed at Dick. “You’re an offering. If we’ve gotten to you, it means we can get to Wayne. He’ll be interested in taking care of you himself and taunt Wayne with it.”.

His finger moved along to Jason. “And you. You’re a turncoat. You fought with Wayne at the mountain but he used you as a shield to avoid being hit. You and your brother fell when the cliff collapsed. He never cared much for you as a child so this betrayal just added to the reasons why you hate him. When your brother continued to deny Wayne’s true nature and you met me, you turned on him as well. We’re now working together to help Luthor topple the man. You are desperate to get rid of this curse and have come seeking Ra’s help, even if it means selling out your brother and all of Gotham.”. 

Both of them just stared.

“And killing his soldiers? Surely he won’t like that?”, Dick tried.

Slade shrugged. “Self-defense. They proved themselves weak when they couldn’t defeat us, despite having the element of surprise and superior numbers.”.

He was tempted to ask for how long Slade had been cooking up this plan. It did sound like a good way of getting close to Ra’s. _In theory_ , that is. In reality, they might just be serving themselves up on a fancy-ass silver platter.

“And you’re sure he won’t just keep the gate shut and pump us full with arrows?”. It was a last-ditch effort. 

“Yes. Besides, he knows that such measures won’t be of any use against someone like me.”.

He rubbed his face, letting out a loud sigh. Then he lifted his arms in front of him.

“Fine then, lead the way.”.

* * *

“I swear to the gods, if you’ve led us into some sort of deathtrap…”.

“…you’ll kill me in the most excruciating way possible. Real scary stuff. Now _zip it_.”.

They were approaching the gate. Now that they’d gotten closer, the two stick figures turned out to be two guards at the gate. Slade was holding onto the now tied-up Dick and dragging him along for show. The rope around his wrists looked tight but Dick had assured them it was loose enough for him to get out of. The guards at the gate stood motionless with their weapons drawn. Slade stopped just a few feet in front of them.

“I’m here to see your master. Tell him it’s Deathstroke.”.

Neither of the women moved. However, both of them fixated their stares at him. He stared right back at them in defiance, hoping his newfound appearance would add to his intimidation.

“If he’s concerned at all about the safety of this realm, he’ll hear me out. I also come bearing gifts.”. Slade yanked Dick’s arm, making Dick stumble forward.

They tore their eyes away from him, instead looking Dick up and down. Suddenly, the two women spoke softly in a foreign tongue. One of them held up a hand toward them, like a stop sign. The other started talking to the… door? As if speaking through it. Then she went quiet, both of them returning to their vigilant positions, like statues.

“Now what?”, he whispered.

“We wait.”, Slade muttered. Helpful as always.

Turned out he wasn’t kidding about waiting. They must’ve stood for at least twenty minutes and still, nothing was happening.

“What if they’re arranging to kill us while we’re just standing here, gawking at the gate like dumbasses?”, he whispered.

Slade didn’t humor him with a reply, simply clicking his tongue.

Finally, there was a loud creak. The gates were opening inwards and both guards stepped aside.

Inside stood an unmasked woman accompanied by several guards. She was a stunner, her long brown hair flowing down past her shoulder, strands falling into her beautiful face. She had a slender frame yet clear curves. Her firm set of brown eyes were fixated on Slade as she smirked and confidently strode forward to meet them.

“Long time no see.”. 

Slade nodded.

“We weren’t expecting you to show up on our doorstep again. Especially not with these types of guests.”. She gestured at them, with a cocked eyebrow. “You’ll have much to explain to father.”.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t bother coming back here and waste your time unless it was worth it.”.

“We’ll see.”.

The lady beckoned them with her finger and began walking away with a sway of her hips. The guards that accompanied didn’t move until they trailed after her, surrounding them from all sides.

While they stuck close to Slade and Dick, they seemed to leave keep their distance around him. He even caught one of them glancing at his tail. He swung it in her direction, making her jump back a bit.

Heh, sucker.

The inside of the castle turned out to scream as much evil overlord as the outside. The walls remained soot-black but the furnishing was that of a royal, with red carpets and majestic golden chandeliers. The paintings they passed were mostly of battles wrought with fires and gruesome slaughters. One was even holding up a chopped-off head on top of a pile of corpses. There were very few windows. If it weren’t for the candles it’d be as dark as a cavern. However, every candle they came across was lit with odd green flames that gave an eerie glow.

How cozy.

As they ventured through the long-ass hallways, the throbbing in his chest got worse with each step. He wouldn’t let it show though, clenching his jaw and breathing deeply. The guards would probably use any excuse they could to maim him.

It was with a surge of relief that they finally made it to the throne room. It was more of the same, only more bombastic with its furnishing and ridiculously big. It had to be three times as big as the town halls in Gotham, if not bigger. The ceiling was high. There were a nasty set of gargoyle-looking statues at the sides of the room, their expressions wrenched in ugly snarls. Green candles and torches cast the room in a brighter green light than the dim hallways.

The throne itself was empty but in front of it stood a man, clad in a black robe and a metal armor covering his shoulder and chest. The armor glowed fiercely with green inscriptions. Green inscriptions were also visible on the skin of the man’s hands. The hair on his temples was white in contrast to the rest that was tinted grey.

The man’s green eyes observed them sharply as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. It nearly sent a shiver down his spine when the eyes lingered on him.

This man must without a doubt be the infamous Ra’s Al Ghul, their one and only ticket to the Pit.

They came to a stop a few feet away from the man. The guards and the unmasked woman stood behind them, blocking the entrance.

“I’m must say I’m surprised to find you back here. I thought we had an understanding.”.

The echo of his voice sounded polite but there was a clear commanding tone to it, verging on threatening. 

“We did. I wouldn’t have returned unless it was important.”.

Slade had barely paused when Ra’s waved at him to continue, seemingly impatient.

“Luthor wants to deliver a message. Wayne has become aware. He knows of your portal and has already begun taking countermeasures. If he strikes now, Luthor will have to backpedal just to protect Metropolis. He feels it would be a shame now that everything is so close in coming to fruition.”. 

Ra’s clicked his tongue.

“Are you certain?”.

Slade nodded.

“It came to our attention that his spies were roaming around the country. Two of them were caught a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, they weren’t too willing to speak so they have since been disposed of. They did carry something interesting with them though.”.

Slade dug around in one of his bags, retrieving a rolled-up paper. He gave it to one of the guards who’d hurried to retrieve it. She turned it over to Ra’s before scurrying back to her previous position. Slade let Ra’s review the paper before continuing.

“Most on that map is accurate but one thing. The mountain at the border is called Mount Evergreen. Not Mount Athena. That map is without a doubt from Gotham. And you should be familiar with the markings. They’re clearly scouting for wheystones.”.

Ra’s continued to quietly regard the map in his hand.

Was Slade making all of this up? If so, holy crap the man had good improvisational skills.

“Lastly, there’s these two.”. Slade yanked Dick by the arm and gestured at them with his other hand.

His own back stiffened like a plank.

“I assume you’ve been informed of the failure back at Gotham. Wayne was unharmed yet two of his wards went missing during the battle. Namely these two, Richard Grayson, first prince of Gotham and Jason Todd, second prince of Gotham. Why don’t you go ahead and tell him what happened, boy?”

Suddenly the spotlight was on him. Compared to the guards, Ra’s seemed to regard him with curiosity and not with fear, tilting his head slightly and giving him a look over. 

“I, uh…I was taken in by Bruce. I was supposed to be his ward, someone he’d care for and protect. In turn, I was ready to give up my life for his and for Gotham. Yet when we fought together, he did _this_ to me.”.

Real smooth. But really, theatrics had always been Dick’s forte, not his. Still, considering their lives depended on it, he tried his best to hiss out every syllable like he was angry. Except it came out more pained when another rumble went through his chest.

Ra’s stare bored into him like a hawk.

“He deliberately threw me in front of himself. He didn’t give a shit about protecting anyone. He abandoned both me and Dickie here to our fate when the cliff collapsed. He didn’t even bother sending a rescue party after us.”.

Gods, Ra’s stare was _really_ getting unsettling. It never wavered and the man barely blinked for crying out loud. His throat betrayed him by involuntarily gulping.

Dick cut him off before he could continue. “How many times do I have to tell you that’s not true? He’ll come for us. If you’d just waited, maybe we’d already been on our way back to Gotham.”.

Alright, Dick seemed to be settling into his role as a captured, noble prince. Which was of course easier, considering he didn’t have to play a traitorous asshole with daddy issues. Thanks, Slade.

Slade gripped Dick by the neck and Dick grunted in pain. It sounded genuine, was Slade hurting him for real?

“And how many times do I have to tell you that’s bullshit? Besides, thanks to him I don’t have any time left. Look at me for fuck’s sake.”, he replied. He and Dick were locked in a staredown.

“And that justifies stabbing not only Bruce in the back but all of the people in Gotham that Luthor’s going to kill? You prick.”, Dick bit back.

Slade decided to interrupt their back and forth. “Todd has kindly relayed what Wayne has told them. That’s how we’re certain that Wayne is aware and already planning countermeasures.”. 

Ra’s walked down the short set of stairs and got a bit closer to them before stopping, his gaze never leaving Jason.

“I can see why you’ve chosen to come to this place. After all, this is the source of your ailment.”. Ra’s looked at him as if he was a truly pitiful creature. Another rumble tore through his chest, making him clench his fists.

“However, you’ll have to tell me what the deal is here. Otherwise I’m afraid I cannot help you.”.

Slade opened his mouth to talk but Ra’s lifted his finger to silence him.

“I want to hear it from _you_. What is it you desire, young man?”.

“…I need this curse to be lifted.”, he murmured. “I’ll do anything.”. Right now, he probably would. The whirling sensation inside and thrumming underneath his skin summoned a wave of nausea. It’d be the perfect dot over the ‘i’ that was his miserable state if he actually puked all over Ra’s.

Ra’s raised his brow and hummed lowly. “Anything? You’ve already given us the information we need without any promised reward from us. Why should we aid you?”.

Of course. No wonder why he’s an associate to Slade, douchebags really do attract other douchebags.

“Not everything, my lord. I can help you breach Gotham’s defenses. Or if it’s Bruce’s head on a silver platter that’s required to make this right, I’ll gladly do that as well.”.

It felt shitty but he bent the knee in front of the bastard, bowing his head. He looked up when Ra’s didn’t say anything. He seemed to be exchanging glances with someone behind him.

Then his eyes flickered back to him.

“Alright. Grant my soldiers’ passage into Gotham, aid them in taking back my grandchild. If possible, bring me Bruce’s severed head.”.

Huh? Grandchild?

“Uh, of course my lord. Who would this grandchild be?”. As to not sound impolite, he quickly added “If I may ask, my lord?”.

Ra’s lips pursed into a thin line.

“Surely, you’re familiar with him, considering he’s been living alongside you. His name is Damian Al Ghul.”.

Oh. The hell? He’d figured the kidnapping attempt had been about getting to Bruce, not the brat being the actual target.

“Wait a sec, that can’t be true. Bruce told us his birth mother died while he was an infant.”.

Dick seemed genuinely confused.

Ra’s scoffed while he sneered at Dick. “Figures he’d be a coward and cover it up like a dirty little secret. Just like he did with the rest that happened during the war.”.

He narrowed his eyes and stabbed his finger at Dick.

“ _He_ was the one that seduced my daughter and got her pregnant. However, when push came to shove, he _rejects_ her. As if that wasn’t shameful enough, he has the guts to steal my grandchild, ripping him away from his mother while he was still a baby. Locking him up in that forsaken place. And people like you call him _noble._ ”.

Ra’s gestured at Jason. “Therefore, it doesn’t surprise me that he’d do something like _this_ to his own supposed family. Anyone that can bring him down and ensure the rightful return of my grandchild to this realm would be _greatly rewarded_.”.

A thin smile formed on his lips as he looked back at Jason.

“For you, Bruce might actually open his doors willingly. That is, if you’re up to the task?”. 

He gulped. Ra’s eyes glowed with hatred. As if Bruce was the one standing before him. His body shivered with another quake.

“I am.”. He clenched his fists when his body tremored again.

Another one so soon?

“Only problem is that I won’t last for much longer, my lord."

Ra’s angry face relaxed.

“Indeed… you have done well to resist it as long as you have. You have my condolences; the curse was intended for Bruce alone. The fact that he escaped this fate is yet another disgrace.”. 

“Why not just kill him? What’s the point to doing _this_?” Dick grit out and gestured with his head at Jason.

Ra’s glared at Dick but didn’t seem bothered by the question. In fact, he _grinned_ like a madman, which was enough to prickle his skin with goosebumps.

“It took some time and subjects before we perfected it, the most fitting end for someone like him. Really, what could be better than have him turn into a mindless beast and slaughter the very thing he’s tried to protect? The death would come to him so slow that the entire country would be in ruins before he’d feel its hollow embrace. If he ever experiences any moments of clarity, the realization of what he’s done would just further fuel his undoing, until he wastes away.”.

Ra’s explained it all gleefully, real pleased about it as if imagining Bruce’s painful death gave him tremendous joy. Then his posture relaxed and he reassumed his cold, neutral bearing.

“Or at least that was supposed to be. Him withering away along with his kingdom. Yet instead all I get is two of his wards and a possible invasion, thanks to the utter incompetence of Luthor and the likes.”. 

“You could have gotten Damian killed with that stunt, you damn psycho.”, Dick uttered in disgust. He couldn’t agree more, the man was a nutjob.

Slade slapped Dick with a smack. _Hard_ , leaving a red mark on his cheek. With a tight grip on Dick’s hair, he forced Dick to bow his head.

In an instant, he was back on his feet. _Fuck_. He’d just acted without thinking, like a damn moron. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the guards tensing up. There was a shuffle as they moved closer.

“You can’t even keep a dog like that one in line.”, Ra’s spat out. His hand shot up as he waved for the guards to stop and get back.

Slade looked like he wanted to interject. However, Jason managed to speak up first.

“ _Please.”._ He had to grind out the words out of his mouth like vomit. “I can set things right. You just need to undo this.”. He gestured at his monstrous body.

Ra’s quirked his lips up in a half-smile.

“I ‘ _need_ ’ to, is it?”.

If words could stab a person, this is probably how it would feel like.

“Why would I _need_ to do anything? You have yet to prove to me that you’re anything other than a pawn of that man.”.

“So the fact that I’m here offering up my own brother means _nothing_?”. 

Ra’s had the gall to sigh scornfully. Like _he_ was the one dealing with a pain in the ass-child. “I do appreciate what you’ve brought, young man. It is also the _only_ reason I’m offering you this opportunity. You may use one of our wheystones to get back to Gotham, with the help of my guards. Bring me results and I’ll grant your wish.”.

Goddamn prick. Now what the fuck are they supposed to do? He glanced at Slade for any kind of cue.

“As for you Deathstroke, what exactly is that you expected by coming back here? As I recall, protecting the wheystones is Luthor’s job. Are you telling me that he’s failing to fulfill his part?”.

The implication of failing to fulfill the deal didn’t seem awful friendly. If Slade displeased him further, none of them would be walking out of here for sure.

“He’ll keep doing his part but it’s going to require an increased effort on your side to deliver. The offer still stands, if you need more manpower. That is, if you’ll let them in. We need to act before it’s too late. The mishap in Gotham City-“. 

Ra’s interrupted, still calm but there was a clear edge in his voice.

“Not interested. The original terms stand. We’ll keep producing the keystones and do our part. _Do_ _yours_.”.

Ra’s snapped his fingers. The guards advanced on them, surrounding them. “Escort them out. You’re free to join the raid on Gotham, Deathstroke. Or run back to your master. As for the prisoner, bring him _here_.”.

There was a rasp and a metallic hiss, as Ra’s pulled his saber out from the ornamented scabbard, eyes fixated on Dick.

No, c’mon. This can’t be happening. Not when they were so close. He didn’t even try to be discreet anymore when he looked to Slade. Dick was also doing it. Slade didn’t reciprocate either of their stares or make any kind of signal, just quietly stood there still holding Dick by the arm.

What the fuck?

Slade wouldn’t let them actually kill Dick, would he?

Another quake tremored through his bones. This time it rattled his very bones and ripped out a pained grunt out of him. Not now, for fuck’s sake. He had to focus on getting Dick out of here. This was their only shot at this and they’d blown it. Leaving Dick with Ra’s was _not_ an option. Surely Slade must realize that as well? Shit, why was he getting so hot? Shitshitshit.

One of the guards was about to grab his arm but something throbbed violently inside. He nearly doubled over from the pain burning through his innards, lighting up every nerve. He wanted to vomit, to scream, scratch his arms until they bled. 

Something was wrong.

His vision warped and suddenly he was back in that odd black space from his dreams. In front of him was the green flame, as big as a bonfire. It shed its vibrant light across the dark, sizzling hot water. The flame was throbbing. The throbbing seemed oddly in tune with his own furiously pounding heart. The flame sent out sparks with each beat.

The whole thing was chaotic.

Yet for some fucked up reason, he wanted to get closer to it. Something warm and familiar was calling to him, to come closer and touch. The promise that everything would stop if he did. The pain, his weakness, this bizarre journey. _Everything_. He reached out but hesitated, the flame nearly licking his outstretched hand. 

_“…he’d been killed…”._ Tim’s voice echoed through the space. It was as if he was talking from inside the flame.

It was followed by another echo. _“…bring me Bruce’s severed head…”._ That bastard Ra’s.

“… _We’re going back to Gotham_ , _together_.”. Dick’s firm voice echoed loudly before trailing off.

A final echo rang out in Slade's voice –

_“Tick tock.”._

He blinked.

It was only meant to be a slight touch but his whole hand was now enveloped inside the flame. It was burning his skin off, turning it into grey, molten ash that scattered downwards. Yet there was no pain at all.

It felt good.

* * *

“Jason!”.

Slade held him back, even as he clawed at his hands. He’d cut down the nearest two guards in the blink of an eye, pulling Dick harshly aside. When he finally wriggled out of the rope tying his hands together and tried to wrench free, Slade managed to pull him back again, dragging him backwards even when he dragged his feet.

It was a momentary distraction and he had to pause his struggle, completely transfixed, as Jason pulled back his clawed hand out of the chest of the guard that had approached him. A shiver licked his spine when Jason looked in their direction. His eyes had turned entirely green and were glowing. They didn’t linger on either Slade and Dick. Instead the eyes wandered until they settled on a target – Ra’s Al Ghul.

Horrifically, Jason’s body started to _morph,_ as he walked towards him. Ruby-red scales were spreading across the whole body. It was as if the remnants of human skin were collapsing into his body, as the scales surfaced, leaving no remnants of Jason. The freckles, grumpy frowns and his eyes mixed with green and blue. All gone, completely replaced by whatever now stood before them. But Jason had to be in there. Had to be.

He clawed yet again at Slade’s arms that were holding him down.

The guards gathered in front of Ra’s, clutching their weapons, as Jason drew close.

“Stop him! Before it’s completed!”, Ra’s yelled.

Two of the guards stirred to life at the command of their master. They dashed towards Jason, weapons raised. It took them seconds to launch their attack but Jason’s arm lashed out with the speed of a viper. The throat of the first guard was slashed into a gory mess. Then his tail whipped out and toppled the other one to the floor. In an instant, he stomped on her head, crushing it with a sickening crunch. Splinters of skull and brain matter scattered.

None of the other guards moved towards Jason, who seized the opportunity to take another step closer. The guards' bodies seemed to stiffen.

However, there was a sudden cracking noise and Jason paused. Something was shifting and breaking under the scales. The cracking sounded like bones grinding together.

Even Slade seemed alarmed, tightening his hold and staring when two small, bony wings emerged out of Jason’s back. A pained mix between a shout and a roar ripped out of Jason’s throat. Scaly tissue wove itself onto the wings, braiding themselves around the bones, as they expanded and eventually unfolded, large enough to reach down to the feet.

Several throwing knives hit Jason’s head with clanking noises during the process, hitting his scale-covered face. Talia had thrown them all in quick succession and just as quickly they all clattered to the floor.

“Get the damn thing!”, Ra’s yelled again. That seemed to wake up the other guards, who stopped standing idle. Each and every one of them launched themselves at Jason. Ra’s himself was backing up.

Talia called out for the guards to stop but they proceeded with their attack.

Jason hunched down on all fours and the big wings, which had somehow grown even larger, enveloped him and covered him from view with the exception of his rear. The guards slashed violently but all they were met with was the clanging noises of their weapons being repelled by the scales. Not even after they ran their hands down their blades, imbuing them with Pit Magic, did they break through. Instead, the energy seemed to be seeped out of their weapons as soon as it made contact and they stopped glowing.

Suddenly, the tail whipped out. The sharp end _cut off_ one of the guard’s heads. With the crack of a whip, the tail swung again and flung two of the guards away, one hitting the wall and another bashing into a pillar. It then retracted itself back and threateningly swayed back and forth. 

His mind must be terribly broken because it reminded him of an angry cat.

Then green light was coursing through the wings, like blood trickling through veins. They kept growing bigger and bigger, now larger than Jason’s body.

For a few seconds, everything stood still.

Then the sickening cracking noise was back. _Something_ was happening to Jason inside. Something bad. The guards stepped back as the wings and whatever it was inside grew in size, unsure of what to do. Ra’s seemed to be arguing with Talia but none of what they were saying was audible. An exceptionally loud crack thundered through the throne room. An inhuman rumbling came from beneath the wings. The creatu-… _Jason_ was now as big as a house. 

“We have to do something…”.

It was a whisper. Yet Slade didn’t loosen his hold and kept dragging him backward without a word, away from Jason. He pounded at Slade’s thigh once more, then grappled for the dagger he knew Slade had strapped at his thigh. A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled it taut behind his back. He gasped and couldn’t help the panicked, shallow breathing. He was helpless. _Useless_. Even if he got free, he didn’t know what to do. They were losing Jason.

“Slade, please…If you don’t let me go now, I’ll never forgive you.”, he wheezed.

Slade finally opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by another thunderous screech. Something was emerging from inside the wings. A clawed foot pounded down on the ground in front of it as it rose. The wings were obscuring the sides.

The breath hitched in his throat when a ruby-red and scaly snout appeared along with an elongated neck. The black horns had also grown in size. The eyes were bigger but just like before they were glowing green with no visible pupil.

The iron bars wrapped around him finally let go. Instead, Slade grabbed onto his face with both hands, turning him away from the monstrous sight.

“Listen. If you go over there, he’s going to _kill_ you. Just like he’ll kill the rest of them. Your brother wouldn’t want that. The only thing you can do for him now is to make it out of here alive.”

He was shaking his head and a sob nearly ripped out of him. Slade stroked his cheek gently with his thumb for a second before he started pulling Dick along by the arm.

He resisted it and remained firm as if his feet were lodged into the ground.

“Thanks…And sorry.”.

The kick at Slade’s knee was hard enough for it to break. In that instant, Slade kneeled on the floor with a pained grunt. The grip on Dick’s arm became loose enough for him to pull free and back away. Slade would heal quickly but not quick enough. With this much distance from the fight and with Jason’s attention being on Ra’s, he’d be alright.

“Make sure you get out, yeah?”, he let out before leaping into a sprint.

He headed for the pillars, where one of the dead guards lay. Jason was on the move, each step pounding on the floor. He let out another thunderous roar and Dick had to cover his ears. At a glance, it seemed like he was still heading for Ra’s.

The guards were yelling at one another. One of them bravely advanced and side-stepped Jason’s claws that lashed out, climbing onto his side. She wasn’t quick enough though, and Jason bent his neck enough to grab her with his jaw. Her body was crushed between his monstrous teeth, spraying blood all over. The body was cast aside a few yards away from him as he ran.

It was getting more and more difficult to repeat in his head that this was Jason.

Finally, he reached the previously fallen guard and picked up her saber. Upon scanning the room again, it seemed like Ra’s was up to something. Talia was trailing behind him as they both were headed towards the end of the room, towards the throne.

Jason was closing the distance quickly with each long, shattering step. He needed to get his attention. Going to Ra’s would put him in Jason’s line of sight.

He settled for running forward behind the pillars to avoid Jason lashing out at him. It was difficult to keep up though. The only thing slowing his monstrous advance down was the guard’s desperate attempts to defend their master. They threw smoke bombs, knives and attempted to climb his body but each move they did was countered with bloody retaliation from Jason by either claws, jaws or tail.

Their numbers were dwindling quickly.

Ra’s seemed to be interacting with something behind the throne. What the hell was he up to? He increased his sprint.

Jason was getting close to Ra’s and Talia but suddenly stopped. His jaws were wide open and it sounded like he was coughing and screeching at the same time, the pitch high enough to make him want to cover the ears again.

A green light shined out of Jason’s mouth and after one cough, green-glowing embers flew out and were spat onto the floor.

Oh crap. Was he trying to breathe _fire_?

Judging by the sudden absolute fear on Talia’s face, it had to be. Ra’s still had his back turned.

“We have to go _now!_ ”, Talia’s voice echoed.

“One moment!”, Ra’s hissed loudly back. Then he resumed a foreign incantation.

Talia seemed to give up on her father. She sprinted to the right, towards the pillars opposite Dick.

He had nearly reached the end of the room and was about to head for Ra’s when Jason let out a massive roar. At the same time, the whole floor started to rumble and Ra’s let out a victorious shout.

Green flames erupted out of Jason’s throat and blasted in a straight line at Ra’s and the throne. It blew out everything in its path, blasting a hole through the castle wall and shattering the throne and everything else into tiny, smoldering pieces. The heat from the flames was so intense that it brushed against his skin even from where he was standing.

Then the blast of fire changed direction as Jason’s head turned, continuously blowing holes through the stony structure.

And it was about to reach right where he was standing, like a fool.

There was nowhere to run, no time. All he could do was drop down on the floor, hugging it for dear life.

The torrent of fire wrecked the pillar and wall. Some of the stone melted while parts of it exploded into splinters. He covered his head in a desperate attempt to shield himself, as pellets of rubble hailed down. The heatwave from the blast stung him. It became a battle for air, gulping, but all he could breathe in was dry heat and ash. The gasps for air turned into frantic coughs.

Jason’s blast kept going down the throne room all the way to the entrance, reducing pillars and walls to rubble. The entrance collapsed, leaving nothing but a mountain of stony debris.

He sat up and scrambled backward, his hands scraping against the gravel on the floor. The throne room was a complete _wreck_. Eerie green rays of light from outside seeped into the throne room through the holes Jason had created, casting a misty light. 

His chest still felt constricted and his throat choked, despite the big gulps of air that came with his heavy breathing. Slade had to be safe. Right? Even if he was caught up in the blast, he’d be alright. He wouldn’t die from something like this.

No, definitely not. Jason was the one he needed to worry about.

He clutched at his chest, trying to massage whatever was happening inside with shaky fingers. Yeah. Jason. He had to save Jason.

The flame died down and Jason let out another thunderous screech.

However, the floor kept shaking violently. He nearly lost his own footing as he tried to stand up.

The center parts of the stone floor were splitting in two, opening up something right underneath Jason.

Jason seemed to finally take notice of it as well. However, he seemed to have difficulties maneuvering his body away before the gap in the floor became too big. His wings flapped uselessly, unable to take flight. He roared, trying to gather his body on one side of the parting floor.

The gap was too big.

The clawed feet on his right hung freely, unable to find footing. With a screech, he dropped to the side and started to fall. With a loud scratch, he latched onto the left-side floor with his front feet, clawing feebly. His claws grated against the floor and embedded claw marks. However, they couldn’t hold the weight of his body. He slid backward, into whatever hole that had opened up, letting out another shrill screech. 

They were out of time.

It was too late to stop whatever Ra’s had put in motion. Without further thought, he ran towards Jason instead.

“Jason!”.

He screamed at the top of his lungs as if it was going to do anything. His brain was going haywire, the adrenaline fought the trembling coursing through his body. He just needed to get to Jason, bring him back.

Even if Jason burned him to death for it.

He was nearly there when Jason’s claws slipped and he fell. He flung himself at the edge. Something splashed and green liquid sprayed up into the air. He had to flinch back before he could look down past the edge again.

Ra’s had opened up a Pit. _The_ Pit without a doubt. The thing was huge, much more so than the small pools they’d passed on their way here.

A small, hysterical laugh escaped his throat. Their only hope had been right underneath them all along. They’d gotten Jason to the Pit, only for it to swallow him whole.

There was only the green-glowing liquid, along with a few bubbles and small waves ebbing out. No sign of Jason. The tremors died down, shifting to vibrations before coming to a complete stop, the floor having opened fully and unraveled the Pit.

Another yell tore out of his throat. A vision flared up in his head, a human hand emerging and after that Jason’s head, yelling for a rope.

The liquid stayed cruelly still. 

He hammered his fist onto the floor. _It hurt_.

Screw it. Screw it all. If Jason wouldn’t emerge from the Pit himself, he had to go fetch him. Simple as that.

As he rose to his feet, he caught Slade walking towards him from the ruined pillars.

He’d been sure but it was still a relief to see him alive. Yet there was something about the way Slade advanced that made his hands clench around the handle of the saber.

“Look, I’m sorry about before. But I don’t have time for this right now. I need to-“.

“You need to what?”. The tone in Slade’s voice was dangerously low. At least before he bellowed out “There’s nothing left for you to save!”.

It made his head spin for a second. No. No way. It wasn’t over yet.

“You don’t know that! Just let me…I’ll find him!”.

“What you’ll find down there is a corpse. Or worse. I realize you’re in grief. But condemning yourself by heading down there is beyond irrational. What we need to do is _leave_ this place.”. 

Now that got his blood boiling, made him wish that he could burn holes simply by staring. He wanted to yell at Slade. If he hadn’t held him back, maybe he could have gotten to Ra’s before the Pit had been opened.

But he didn’t have time for this bullshit. He had to save Jason. 

“I have to try.”.

Slade sighed in resignation. Then in a flash, he was trying to jab the handle of his own blade into Dick’s stomach. By a hair’s breadth, he managed to sidestep away but Slade didn’t let up any space between them, letting out a flurry of attacks, aiming for his legs and sides.

“Would you stop?!”, he cried out before parrying another blow.

“Would you listen?”, Slade countered before attempting to kick his right side. Another close one.

“We need to leave this place.”. Slade repeated.

“Why- dammit! – do you keep saying that?”, he grunted, as their blades clashed again with a loud clang.

“Because-“, another kick and attempt to grab Dick’s hand holding the sword – “Luthor’s going to blow it all to smithereens.” 

Another step backward. “What?!”.

Slade actually had the decency to pause at that.

“Why’d you think I was in Metropolis? Luthor _knew_ the alliance with Ra’s was tentative at best. If he wants to beat Bruce, he needs full access to every resource this realm has to offer. I’ve already informed him that I was making contact with Ra’s. Even if I’d failed in killing him, Luthor’s troops are going to swarm in here anyway, blast this place to pieces. It could be minutes, hours or a day. Either way, we can’t be here.”. 

It was like a punch to the face.

“What about bringing me? And Jason?”. Despite the gut-wrenching feeling, he couldn’t help but ask.

Slade actually broke eye-contact momentarily.

“…a side-venture. At least at first.”.

Slade’s eye quickly fixated back on him again. “It’d be a damn shame to let Luthor tear you to shreds. Then your brother happened.”.

It clicked. Finally, it freaking clicked. He couldn’t believe it. Slade couldn’t do this to him. Not again. _Not now._

“…you never cared about curing Jason. You just wanted to _use_ him as a tool for dealing with Ra’s.”. It came out tentatively at first. Then the anger flushed through him like a goddamn tidal wave. 

“If Ra’s tried to imprison us here, you _knew_ he wouldn’t stand for it. You always said the Pit would affect him to a higher degree in this place.”.

He spat out the words with all the spite he could muster. He should’ve known. This was who Slade was and would always be: a traitorous snake. Acting like he actually had principles or gods forbid, _feelings._

Slade’s silence was all the confirmation he needed. 

“And I was the useful idiot that made Jason come here. If I’d-”.

“You’re wrong.”. Slade suddenly interrupted. “I’ll admit that I saw a potential use in the kid, but he’s never been my priority.”.

It sounded sincere. But then again, didn’t it always? Same silvery tongue spitting lies. The same man that had shared a bed with him while at the same time plotting to stab him in the back.

To his chagrin, Slade had successfully maneuvered him away from the Pit. He gripped the handle of the blade hard enough to make his knuckles whiten and slashed at Slade. The bastard remained steadfast, blocking the path to the Pit.

The way things were going, he would have to leap and dive into it the first chance he got. He might not be able to beat Slade but there outrunning him might be possible. 

“Let me pass.”.

“No.”.

“Let me pass right now, dammit!”.

“No. I realize you might have difficulties believing this, but I fulfilled my end of the bargain. I took you here. Your brother was given access to the Pit, only he couldn’t resist being triggered and whip himself into a frenzy.”.

Oh, if that wasn’t the _funniest_ thing he’d heard all day.

“That’s because you knew what would happen! You used him!”.

“Ra’s would never have opened the Pit willingly. If we hadn’t done it like this, we’d still be wandering outside while your brother deteriorated and transformed anyway. We’d been his first chew-toys instead.”.

Slade lowered his blade slowly. “This way, he could go out in a way that mattered. In a way he’d wanted. He wouldn’t want you to die he-”.

It was about all he could take.

“Don’t you _dare_.”. He lashed out, this time with such force that Slade had to get his blade up in a hurry and he was momentarily staggered by the blow.

However, Slade was quick to recover and began pushing back. Hard. The blow nearly overwhelmed his arms and took his breath away. He was shaking. If this kept going, his chances of saving Jason were equal to zero. It’d already taken too long.

Slade lunged for him again. There was a considerable strain on his ankles when he withstood the first strike.

There was a sudden sharp sound of another blade leaving its sheath. Crap. A definite sign to get the hell away. He jumped back but still had to guard the incoming strike from Slade’s second sword with his own blade. Another two jumps to the side and backward flip created some welcome distance. A small cut stung from the pebbles that his hand landed on when he flipped backward but it barely registered.

If Slade had pulled out his other blade, it must mean he was prepared to do some real damage to get his way.

Slade bolted after him, forcing him to parry another flurry of blows, now twofold. He jumped back again.

Nearly there.

Something cracked and crashed against the ground behind him, breaking into pieces. He ignored it, continuing to evade Slade’s blows by moving backward. He knew he had to be close. He could barely defend a particularly hard strike from Slade, who surprised him by sending him flying with a kick to his stomach. _Shit_. He barely got up before Slade was onto him again like a damn leech.

He’d ended up in the wrong place and now Slade stood a few yards in front of it.

All or nothing then.

He loosened his stance and aimed a blow against Slade’s legs. Slade blocked it by crisscrossing his blades, one above his own blade and one underneath, and directed it straight into the ground in one move.

Finally!

He let go of the handle. Unarmed, he put one foot on the meshed together blades and pushed them further down. The broadside of Slade’s blade on top was enough for him to gain some footing and leap up, grabbing Slade’s face and smashing it against his knee. He must’ve broken Slade’s nose because there was a loud crack.

Mid-air, he changed his grip to each side of Slade’s neck and using every ounce of strength in his upper arms, he catapulted himself up into a handstand and flipped over.

When Slade finally had pulled out both of his blades, he’d been glad. It meant that Slade no longer had a free hand to grab him with.

He landed on his feet and sprinted like there was no tomorrow. His pulse was throbbing wildly, body seeping with anticipation and fear. Without knowing if Slade was even behind him, he rolled down in front and landed right next to the body of a dead guard.

He scrambled for the thing he’d seen in her hand. Her grip around the undetonated smoke bomb was loose and he could easily pry it out of her hand. Some of her blood had pooled out and stained it, making it a bit slippery to hold. But he got a firm grip on it and threw it right at Slade.

Slade’s swift approach was halted by the cloud of dark smoke that burst out with a loud poof. It engulfed his figure and the nearby area.

No time to lose. First thing was grabbing a throwing knife from the guard and throw it right at where Slade’s legs should be. It cluttered against the floor somewhere. Damn it. He picked up another and threw again. The pained groan that followed affirmed that he’d hit Slade somewhere at least. His hands fumbled for the guard’s saber. One of his hands wrapped around it, it was sticky with wet blood just like the bomb.

Without hesitation, he dashed into the thick mist. Slade was shifting inside of it, grunting in pain yet again, before something clattered to the floor with a clang. The dagger, no doubt about it. No matter. He had him right where he wanted him anyway.

The smoke started to dissipate.

There it was, the shape of Slade, turned sideways and looking towards the direction of the Pit. He must be thinking that Dick was headed there. He leaped into the air, folding his two legs together into a dropkick.

It hit Slade straight in the chest and sent him flying.

His back smacked against the broken pillar behind him and he crumpled to the floor, dropping one of his swords. He lifted his face right as Dick bent down and stuck the saber into his chest with all the force he could muster. He strained his arms to dig it as deep as he could, even trying to pierce the cracked stone of the pillar to make it stick. 

Slade coughed violently. Blood seeped out from the side of his lips.

That’d slow him down.

He let go of the handle. Halfway while turning around, his wrist was grabbed harshly, making him gasp in surprise. The hand wrapped around like a snare, pulling hard enough to make him lose his footing and fall on his knees, forcing him to kneel and lean over Slade. His free hand immediately went for the handle of the saber again to steady himself and keep Slade put.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as they stared at each other. 

Both were breathing heavily, Slade particularly, who let out another cough. The adrenaline rush bursting through his veins was winding down. Instead, it gave way to the creeping exhaustion and the whirlwind of muddled emotions at the back of his head that he’d so desperately been keeping at bay. It was a cocktail of righteous fury at the man in front of him and inexplicable grief, as if something was slipping out of his hands only to be lost forever. The flaming hope was simmering down to a sizzle compared to the other two. Too much time had passed, if there had even been something left to save down in the Pit.

Slade’s wound was trying to heal but the blade embedded in his chest kept it from closing. Even though the healing flesh kept cutting itself on the sharp edges, his hold on Dick’s wrist didn’t waver. Not even when he tugged several times to free his wrist did the grip loosen.

Screw this. He was about to punch with his free hand when Slade uttered something that made him freeze mid-motion.

“Dick.”.

It was spoken with a soft rasp.

A coarse thumb rubbed his wrist soothingly. “Nothing good will co-…” Slade had to pause and wince as the wound closed and reopened again. “…come…of this. Trust me.”.

“…I can’t”.

“You _can_. Just…stop…”.

Slade leaned in closer, despite the flesh tearing when he moved near. The exertion forced him to pause for a brief moment before he steadied himself.

“Your brother’s gone... Stop...”.

The lump in his throat grew bigger. He didn’t want to hear anymore. He yanked his arm with no result.

“Gotham isn’t…meant for you.”, Slade continued.

A bitter chuckle nearly escaped him, making him scoff.

“And where am I meant to be exactly? With _you_?”. He tugged his wrist again to no avail and clutched to the handle of the saber with his other hand like a lifeline.

Slade smiled softly, making his own breath hitch. He looked up at Dick with something akin to… _No._ It wasn’t possible. 

“…Somewhere free… Somewhere...you won’t waste away… Gotham hasn’t been home…since you first left its walls all those years ago...You know this.”.

Quick flashes of Toran and battling the kingsguard flew by in his mind.

A sudden crackling and rumbling disrupted his thoughts, followed by the echo of stones cluttering to the floor somewhere in the room.

He tried pulling his wrist away again. Slade shifted and let go of the handle of his sword that he’d been squeezing with his other hand.

Instead, he moved the hand to hold Dick by the shoulder and pull him closer. He froze when Slade’s free hand moved its way up his shoulder and neckline until it reached his face.

There, Slade caressed the cheek as if it was made of fragile glass. The light touch sent a shiver down his body.

It should have been disgusting. Yet he tilted his head, leaning into it. Slade’s hand was still warm. Familiar.

“Things can be different...”.

Unwanted images wormed their way into his brain again. Of Slade smashing each self-doubt he ever had about being a good commander. Slade tirelessly training him each day, teaching him things Bruce wouldn’t even dream of. How they’d battled side by side. Of them sharing a bed, the comforting weight of his body pressed against his own. How Slade would lightly stroke his hip and kiss his neck each morning. The pain followed by hollowness once back in Gotham that had haunted him for years. That was haunting him even now. 

He looked down to find that his hand had unconsciously moved on top of Slade’s hand that was holding onto his wrist. 

“Yeah, maybe…”. His eyes darted back to Slade’s face. The face that looked at him as if he was a precious gem, never to be let out of sight.

“…but it could also have been different back then.”.

His hold on Slade’s hand tightened.

It didn’t matter anymore. Whether he wanted to yield to every touch, kiss, punch or even kill Slade, none of it mattered. 

What mattered was getting Jason’s body. He’d promised that they’d go back home together no matter what. There was no way he would leave it here, no way for him to ever look his family in the eyes again if he did.

Slade’s gaze didn’t waver. 

Another long rumble tore through the throne room. The crack in the broken pillar was widening. There were several crackling sounds of stone splintering from all around them. Crap. They were too close to the edge, where Jason’s blast had blown the walls to bits. The fractured floor couldn’t keep itself together anymore. Next to them, there was a particularly loud tear as a large crack split its way up to them.

He withdrew his hand from on top of Slade’s. Another crack was followed by a piece of brick that shattered into pieces right next to them. Then another one, followed by a rain of stone and dust from the ceiling.

Suddenly, his wrist was free from Slade’s grasp. 

In an instant, he jumped up and pulled out the saber. Slade hissed in pain, grinding his teeth. He cast the saber aside. It cluttered on the crumbling floor before disappearing down one of the cracks.

It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds that he looked away. When he looked back, Slade was already on his feet. He was wobbly and the hole in his chest hadn’t entirely closed as blood still poured out of it. 

“Get out.”. 

It was all the warning he got before Slade hunched a little, wrapping his arms around his waist and back as if he was about to wrestle him, instead lifting him up.

Then suddenly he was airborne.

His brain barely had time to process the sensation of falling. His body simply acted on instinct, bracing itself for a safe landing. A flip. He had to flip. It was too late though. His right shoulder took the brunt of the impact as he hit the floor and all he could do was shield his head. He rolled for a moment before coming to a stop. The floor was still rumbling underneath his feet, causing him to stumble backward. Winding cracks chased him like a snake before coming to an abrupt stop with one last crackle. 

Looking up, the spot where he’d just had been was rent asunder. The pillars, floor and parts of the ceiling had all disappeared along with Slade.

His aching limbs protested loudly when he rose. After everything, he wasn’t going to let his tired body end things. No way.

Something burned behind his eyes, body shaking, but he clenched his fist, willing it away.

Then he turned towards the beaming light of the Pit.

* * *

This was worse than any hangover he’d ever experienced. Something was drumming inside his head and hitting hard like a hammer. The ground was all wobbly.

Worst of all was the fact that he was floating blindly through nothing but black space.

Maybe that old bottle of hooch he’d stolen from the wine cellar had sent him to this hellish fever dream. Or not. He didn’t really have the imagination to conjure up something as bonkers as this.

The flame he’d touched had just whooshed out of existence and now everything was nothing but pitch-black. Leaving him alone with the bloody pounding in his head. What the hell was going on? Where was Dick?

For the umpteenth time, he stretched out his arms and tried swimming first upwards, then sideways. The whole thing was ridiculous and he felt like a clumsy turtle that had been flipped on its back. The fact that he was floating through what seemed to be air without any sense of gravity made added to his nausea like he could splat down on the ground at any moment.

Yet there was no wind or resistance as he flailed his arms and legs around. It was impossible to tell if he was making progress or if he was just stuck in the same place. There was no falling sensation but weirdly could feel the weight of his own body.

“For shit’s sake!”. Like a wailing ghost, his voice echoed and trailed off.

Suddenly, violent vibrations tore through, distorting the space and his very bones. Finally, there was something.

_Heat._

The heat was followed by something else. A loud and familiar noise. It sounded like a garbled mess and repeated several times. A word. With slow exhales he quieted his breath and tried to sharpen his ears as best he could. Despite his focus, the word was still unintelligible. Where was it coming from? He attempted moving straight ahead but the sound neither got louder nor quieter.

Suddenly it started to trail off as if it was about to disappear. Shit! He shut his eyes and rubbed his fingers on his temples.

The sound returned in force. _“---.”_.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…”, he whispered to himself. Just gotta hold it together and focus. 

_“-n.”_

Finally, something. He took a deep breath and tried to still his body, just letting it float mindlessly and the waves steer his body.

_“-son.”_

Another slow breath, in and out. Without knowing why his fingers reached out. He knew it was there, as he’d glimpsed it when the space was distorted.

The tips of his fingers touched something silky and liquid. It ran quietly over and down on his fingers. He pushed his hand a bit further in. It came out on the other side and there was no longer any liquid pouring down on it. He experimentally shifted his hand around with the palm now being upward, as if he could gather liquid falling down. Still nothing. The whole thing was more like poking through a waterfall.

He had to open his eyes.

“What the…” he murmured upon seeing the dark watery surface in front of his nose. The surface was tranquil, except for a few waves that sticking his hand in had caused. Nothing was reflected in it.

He was starting to wish he had that bottle of hooch with him because this was batshit crazy.

Suddenly something grabbed his hand on the other side and pulled him through. His first instinct was to grab onto whatever was pulling him in and bash it with his fist.

Which is precisely what he did, only to find that his fist didn’t connect with anything.

His eyes clamped down, when his body passed the liquid flowing down and it trickled all over him. He shuddered violently as the droplets hit his skin. He should have been drenched yet he was dry while tumbling out on the other side. Whatever had grabbed him released his hand and wasn’t there during the blink of an eye it took for Jason to open his eyes again.

He was standing in dark liquid that reached the waist. The surface had switched places to below instead of behind him. Did that mean his legs were still stuck on the other side? Never mind, it was useless to even try to make sense of this.

Something blew against his face. It quickly became evident where it was coming from: the wildly out of control green flame that had appeared just a few yards away. The heat waves from it were immense and slapped against his face.

He took a step forward only to immediately be stopped by something pulling at his leg. Just as quickly, the pulling stopped. Instead, something touched his back, breathed down his neck. A white, porcelain hand appeared out of the corner of his eye and began stroking his cheek.

_“Jason.”_

He forgot to breathe.

_“Let’s watch the fireworks.”._

Another hand was rubbing his upper arm reassuringly. The other kept stroking his cheek with its soft, nimble fingers.

_“Just you and me, honey. Like we used to.”._

The flame crackled and viciously spit out sparks. One spark passed by his face but he didn’t register it. All he could hear were the words uttered by the voice that closed in on his ear and whispered:

_“Before you killed me.”._

“I didn’t-!”, he called out while whipping around. He was met with the face of his mother. She was white as a sheet but there was a seemingly holy light emanating from her whole body, like a bright aura. His jaw clenched shut.

 _“Shh. It’s okay, it’s okay.”_ , his mother interrupted with a gentle smile.

Her ethereal hand moved up and again, rubbing his cheek lovingly.

_“It’s in the past. Come now. Be a good boy… Please, Jason.”._

An involuntary tremble ran through him. More sparks flew past them. He hesitantly tried to grab her arm and pull her hand away. But it passed through, leaving a trail of grains of dust where his hand went through before re-materializing back into the shape of her arm again.

He jumped back as far as he could but the water slowed him down. It didn’t stop him from stumbling backward. Another spark flew past and fizzled out in the water next to him. 

_“Come now. Don’t be afraid.”_. She held out her hand, beckoning him to her, still with that gentle smile.

“I-I can’t... Dick’s in trouble, I can’t stay here.”. He frantically looked for a way out but there was nothing but black space around them, only illuminated by the flame and the small light emitting from her ghostly form.

_“Come. Do it for me.”._

“I can’t.”, he said more firmly this time. Was there really no exit to this hellhole? Should he try touching the flame again? 

_“Look at me!”,_ she suddenly roared. His body went still. Something kept him from raising his head in her direction.

_“I said look at me when I’m talking to you! You always do this, you wretch. After all I’ve done for you!”._

It was a desperate and angry cry as if she wanted to smite him out of existence with each word.

He had to rub his face. Deep breath. Then he raised his head finally looking at her.

The smile had vanished and she’d lowered her hand. Her face was twisted into something cold and outraged. Something more familiar.

 _“You ruined EVERYTHING!”_.

Her scream pierced his ears like a banshee and his hands flew up to cover them. In a blink, there she was, floating above him and the water. The green flame flickered wildly behind her and sparks started raining down. They burned when they landed on his skin but simply passed through her.

Suddenly she descended on him, shrieking and clawing for his throat like a beast. He couldn’t move, his body was made out of stone. All he could do was close his eyes and let her be done with it. Like he’d always done. 

The shrieking ceased.

Shakingly, he raised his hand and touched his own throat. It was intact. As he slowly opened his eyes, there was nothing but the giant crackling green flame.

What the hell?

His chest was heaving with shallow breaths as he looked around. Still nothing. He dared to take a wobbly first step towards the flame. Then another.

 _“Sure that’s wise?”_.

He nearly took a nosedive into the water, splashing and stumbling like a fool. Out of freaking nowhere, Damian had materialized. He was sitting in the air, one leg raised and the other dangling freely just above the surface.

“Oh, for fuck sake!”, he cried out. Enough of this bullshit already.

 _“Eloquent as always. But as I was saying, you sure you wanna go back to steering this ship?”._ The brat looked as cocky as he sounded.

“I am. I can’t stay here.”.

He passed right through the floating Damian. Which did absolutely nothing, as the little shit just re-materialized in front of him again. 

_“You can. And it’ll probably be for the best. You’re a beast now, remember? You’ll tear us all apart. Rip our guts and hearts out.”._ Damian gestured down his torso. 

That made him stop.

_“It’s okay to let go. Gotham will be alright without you. Me and Grayson will take care of things. We’ll protect father.”._

“Dick needs my help _now.”._

He plowed through Damian’s body yet again and waving away the grains of ashen dust.

_“You’ll kill him. Just like you killed your mother.”._

“I won’t! And I didn’t!”.

_“Your words won’t change the inevitable.”._

A torn-up corpse floated up to the surface. The only thing intact was the face. Dick’s face. His chest was ripped open and his insides were all visible in a jumbled mess, every shattered bone and entrails in all its glory.

Fuck. His body stopped obeying, freezing in place. Clenching his fists, he tried to still his breaths. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

“…I have to try. I’m stupid that way.”.

 _“Tt.”_. Damian frowned at him with utter disapproval before fading away, as did Dick’s body.

He tried to run toward the flame but the water felt so heavy no matter how hard he pushed. There was also an unpleasant surprise: the water level was starting to rise. It had already moved up above his navel and was continually rising.

“Shit!”.

Couldn’t he for once catch a damn break? The flame wasn’t far away, he could make it! The heat still smoldered against his skin. The frenzied sparks spat out of the flame and kept pouring down. They never left a mark when they hit him but it stung like hell.

The water was now touching his upper torso and the ground beneath him disappeared. He was so damn close. Like a rabid dog, he started swimming. 

Suddenly something huge splashed right behind him. Looking back, there was a shadowy, emerging shape. It was that of a giant dragon, the very same thing that had haunted his dreams. Its ruby-red scales glistened from the liquid. Its humungous body was hit by many of the violent sparks but each of them fizzled out. Its monstrous head looked down at him as if he was its next meal, baring its sharp, scorched teeth. His heartrate skyrocketed in an instant and he had to swallow a whimper.

No time to waste. He thrust himself forward and threw out his hand at the flame in front of him. The whole space vibrated from the creature’s roar and the waves nearly swept him away. But his hand had already entered the flame. He clenched his fist as if he was grabbing it and yelled: “Stop! Take me back!”. Dammit, was there a magic word for this?

This time his hand didn’t turn to ash. Instead, everything else did. The water, the dragon, black space all wasted away. It was replaced by all-encompassing green. The scorching heat remained the same. He gurgled but shut his mouth immediately as the thick green substance nearly got inside. Where the fuck was this? Alarms were blaring when he realized that he was sinking. And he couldn’t breathe! His arms flailed before he got enough momentum to swim upwards.

It was a glorious relief when he finally breached the surface, coughing like a madman and sucked in big, juicy breaths.

Sweet, sweet oxygen and precious nectar of life.

He was splashing with his arms and legs to keep himself afloat when it hit him. His arms were no longer covered in scales. His whole body felt lighter and it wasn’t just because he was butt-naked. He instantly pawed with one hand on his head. The horns were gone. A laugh slipped out of him.

Whatever those apparitions in the black space had said, they were wrong. He was free.

“Jason!”.

_Thank the gods._

He wiped some of the liquid out of his face and gawked upwards. Dick was leaning over the edge, sinking to his knees.

“Dick! You okay?!”.

“I’m fine! I thought- How are yo-..the Pit….”. Dick was struggling for words.

“It’s okay! I’m okay!”. He scanned his surroundings for a ladder or anything useful. Figures he’d be shit out of luck. “Um, you don’t happen to have any rope up there?”.

“No, sorry. Don’t think there’s any but I can go-“, Dick started but Jason interrupted him.

“Don’t! I’ll climb.”. No way would he let Dick leave his sight.

“But-“ Dick started again. However, he was already heading for the rocky walls of the Pit. He could make it. It wasn’t that deep.

Except he slid down into the Pit three times. He didn’t even get halfway.

Something rushed through him, making his blood boil. In pure frustration, he hit the wall with his fist.

And made a damn hole in it.

He heard Dick gasp and retracted his fist, inspecting the knuckles. Oh no. His heart sank.

“That could work!”, Dick yelled. “Use that to get up here!”.

He looked up at Dick. Surely, he must’ve also realized that this meant that the curse was still active.

He tapped the rocky surface with his fist again. Nothing. Fuck this shit. It worked just a second ago. He was getting up that damned wall if it was the last thing he’d do.

His blood rushed and boiled again.

The stone shattered underneath his knuckles, as he made another hole. Okay, maybe different from before. Maybe he could control it? Like a mantra, he repeated over and over that he was going to get up this shitty wall. It seemed to work, as he continuously created holes to properly hold onto. It allowed him to scale the wall without problems.

As soon as he got over the edge, the weapon in Dick’s hand cluttered to the floor and Dick dashed over. He threw his arms around Jason’s neck tightly.

Okay, clearly Dick wasn’t minding the nakedness. 

They stood there, holding each other, while Dick quietly murmured “Thank the gods…” and “I’m sorry” several times into his neck. He rubbed his own face against Dick’s head and hair, taking in everything from the musky, smoky scent to the physical confirmation that Dick was in fact here, alive and well. No Slade, Ra’s or any other enemy in sight.

“You need a bath…”, he muttered. Dick’s laugh tickled his neck.

“That makes two of us. Wanna get out of here?”. Dick detached himself with a grin.

He nodded. And froze. “Uh…my remaining stone was in my clothes…which are...well.”.

Dick grinned grew even wider and his eyes crinkled with amusement. To add to his humiliation, Dick glanced downwards briefly, making him cover his groin with his hands. “No worries. I’ve got both mine left since your portal was enough.”.

Uh-oh.

“Yeah, about that…yours don’t really work.”.

In an instant Dick dropped his smile, instead frowning. Slowly but surely the question came: “And why’s that?”.

Shit. “We, uh, switched your stones. They’re not real keys.”.

Dick crossed his arm with a deepened frown. But he remained silent, seemingly judging him with his razor-sharp glare.

“It was an accident. When you held onto me and got blood on my stone, remember? It took us both.”.

Dick huffed. “We were supposed to be in this _together_.”.

‘Says you’ was about to trickle out of his mouth but he bit his lip. He never wanted to bring him along in the first place. Yet the look on Dick’s face made it clear that it’d be wiser to keep his mouth shut. 

“Good thing I got Slade’s stone then.”.

That baffled him. He stared at Dick and the cheeky bastard cocked his head sideways, shifting. “I nicked it during one of our breaks. I figured it’d be wiser to control _when_ he’d be allowed to use it. Clearly the right call then, since you messed with my damn keystones.”.

Dick retrieved Slade’s remaining keystone from the small pouch attached to his belt, holding it out to Jason.

He stared as if transfixed by the gem-clad stone in Dick’s palm.

“You good to go?”, Dick asked while retracting his hand, putting the stone back into the pouch.

He looked up at him. His face had softened, seemingly putting his anger at Jason aside for now.

“Yeah. Let’s.”.

Dick picked up the blade once more, finding an accompanying sheath on one of the dead guards. They opted for trying to climb the pile of rubble at the entrance. There was still enough room at the top to get out on the other side.

It wasn’t easy, with the rubble shuffling around as they climbed. Whenever his footing got unstable, he willed forth some of that supernatural strength to secure his position.

Dick seemed to have no issues. Granted, he was going slow due to some seemingly lingering pains. In comparison, he was flailing like a goose in headwind. 

Dick made it to the top first but froze. In a few moments, he made it there as well.

Waiting down below was a bunch of guards. Several of the guards had their arrows raised right at them, ready to fire.

Someone walked past the guards to the front, holding up their hand.

“Hold your fire.”.

It was Talia.

“What do you know …Wouldn’t have betted on the two of you to come out on top.”.

Shit.

“Well, if you live long enough…”, Dick tried with a smile.

She smiled back, almost a sneer.

“I suppose my father isn’t with you?”.

Dick’s mouth fell shut and he looked down before shaking his head.

“Supposed as much.”. Talia glanced at the guards, hand still held high.

Dammit. Was she going to try and avenge him? He’d been happy to be rid of the scaly exterior but suddenly he missed its protection. Especially when Dick, the idiot, stepped close, trying to get in front of him, hand clutching the sword handle.

Hell no. If push came to shove, he’d offer himself for them if they’d just let Dick go.

“Lower your weapons.”.

The guards with the bows looked hesitant to do so.

“ _Lower_ them.”, Talia commanded again, her eyes boring into the archers.

This time they obliged, lowering their bows and taking a step back while bowing slightly.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Has the perpetrator Deathstroke been dealt with?”.

What the hell?

“Yes.”. Okay, so Dick was playing along. Since when was she on their side?

Distrust swelled inside of him.

“Good. Seeing as you’ve taken care of the man responsible for my father’s death and several of our sisters, I see no reason to detain you here. You’ll be escorted off the premises.”.

He’d wanted to propose that they escort themselves out, without help. However, it didn’t seem to be up for discussion judging by her commanding tone.

It was awkward climbing down with that many eyes on them. No one lifted a finger though. Talia only took a handful of guards along while escorting Dick and Jason out of the castle in absolute silence. The others either went to survey the damage in the throne room while others returned to their posts.

They were led outside the gates. Talia and the guards navigated the misty surroundings, leading them to a wheystone just east outside of the castle.

It was black with familiar inscriptions, just like the other wheystones they’d come upon.

Talia motioned for the guards to halt, escorting them the last yards by herself.

“Do you still have keystones? Or shall I provide one for you?”.

“That won’t be necessary, we still got one. Thanks though. For everything.”, Dick replied with a small smile. 

They were about to start the teleportation process when her voice stopped them.

“Make sure to let _him_ know.”.

They looked at each other in confusion before turning back towards Talia.

“Let him know what?”.

“The reason you’re not shot full of arrows, for starters. Also, no one’s going to come for the boy anymore. If the boy comes, it’ll be of his own volition. So _he_ can relax, no need for any crusade.”. 

She _winked_ at them. It was disturbing, to say the least. She must either have hated her father with a burning passion or be a coldblooded hardass, seeing as she didn’t seem to give a damn about his death. Even sending his murderer off with a smile.

“…We will.”. Dick replied, looking to him as he said it. Grudgingly, he nodded at her, acknowledging the deal.

“There’s something you should know. According to Sla- _Deathstroke_ , Luthor and his forces are on their way to take over the realm. It could be anytime now. I’d make myself scarce before that happens if I were you.”.

Talia cocked her head sideways with her hand on her hips. “Noted. This place has been compromised anyway, ever since that prick got a whiff of it. Give my best wishes to Bruce.”.

She wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it anymore. With a final wave, she strode off and headed back towards her guards.

Dick unsheathed his blade, cutting the tip of his index finger. With a few squeezes on the finger, he managed to summon a few droplets. When he seemed satisfied with the amount, he proceeded to smear the blood on the stone.

Then Dick turned the blade over to him, allowing him to repeat the same process. Dick then held up the stone for him to smear his own blood on it, mixing it with Dick’s.

As he did, he closed his hand around Dick’s. 

It was curious, the way Dick’s eyes seemed fixated on their hands entwined around the stone. Nothing indicated that he was grossed out by it but not if he liked it either. Just observing it with an unreadable expression. 

A familiar whirling noise got his attention, as the portal manifested through a green smudge that tainted the air. Tendrils encircled them from the bottom up.

Before their bodies disintegrated, he didn’t hesitate to gawk at Dick, only to find Dick looking back at him. Once their eyes met, Dick’s face cracked up in another small, relieved smile. Instantly, he responded with a smile of his own and tightened his hold on Dick’s hand.

It was over.

* * *

Getting back to the border was much easier than Dick had imagined, save the one time they got lost in one of the woods.

Tim had packed enough supplies to feed a whole squad of soldiers for weeks. He really was a good kid. When they’d returned, he’d been thrilled and hugged them both.

Obviously, they were one person short but he never asked about it. However, he did question Jason relentlessly about his condition until he eventually agreed to an examination.

The only visible remnant of the curse was the green eyes. His eye color seems to have been permanently changed. Then there is also the matter of his supernatural strength and improved healing. The cuts and bruises had barely lasted a day before disappearing.

Otherwise, everything about Jason seemed back to normal.

Reluctantly after two days of rest, Tim had guided them to the edge of the forest and let them be on their way. Though not before he got his chance to once again thank Tim again for all he did. Jason wouldn’t be here without his help and he had to make sure he knew it.

They avoided the main roads that were still infested with patrols and covered as much ground as they could. Each night consisted of them taking turns sleeping and getting up early to keep on riding.

The mood was lighter compared to before. Despite that though, Jason still seemed a bit distant. Neither of them brought up what had transpired at Tim’s place before their venture into the Pit. He attributed it to them being too focused on getting home.

Deep down, he was kind of relieved about postponing it since he still didn’t have a clear answer.

Sometimes Slade managed to worm inside his head. Even if he did his best to consider that chapter closed, it still bugged him. He couldn’t stop wondering why he’d pursued him in the first place, insisting for him to come with? Had even painted a pretty picture of doing it on Dick’s terms.

Then there was the whole thing back at the Pit. He’d gotten what he’d wanted with Jason going rampage and Ra’s being blasted to pieces. Why not stop the charade there? 

One theory that his brain cooked up was whether he’d been a precious pet project to Slade. He must’ve found him amusing on some level, otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck around. He’d invested time and effort in training Dick and always kept yapping about his potential. Maybe he felt his work on him wasn’t finished and wanted more time, to tame him or whatever. Or maybe all he wanted was further amusement and pleasure of trying to do so.

Their fight about Jason and Dick stabbing him was probably nothing but a minor inconvenience to a supernatural being like him, hence why Slade’s persistence in bringing him along didn’t falter.

The thought nearly made him scoff. Why was he even bothered about it? Slade wasn’t around to mess with them anymore. Was it out of guilt?

 _No._ Slade must’ve survived.

Something just irked him. Something he didn’t really want to consider. It was the alternative that maybe it hadn’t been another one of his schemes, maybe Slade actually…

It was useless. He’d never know for sure anyway. All that mattered now was getting Jason safely back to Gotham.

As they got close to Fairview, he was tempted to go there. He owed Kory and the others a proper apology and thanks. Just a quick knock on the door and then be on their way. Jason scowled when he’d voiced the thought and made his stance clear. He was right. They couldn’t afford any risks right now. However, he was going to make damn sure to compensate them somehow for all the trouble, as soon as things calmed down.

Once they closed in on the border, they unsaddled their horses and let them go. The remaining journey would have to be by foot.

All that stood between them and Gotham now was the all too familiar mountain wall. They could win a confrontation with the soldiers guarding the mountain path. It wasn’t necessary though.

Instead, Jason repeated what he’d done before in the Pit, carving out holes in the wall with his bare hands as he climbed. Punching holes in the wall wasn’t exactly quiet business so he kept watch in case any guards should approach.

Once Jason reached the top, Dick followed suit using the holes he’d made.

At last, Gotham lay before them. He sighed in relief and glanced over at Jason, who seemed to observed the familiar view with a small smile. His green eyes gleamed in the sunlight.

They didn’t stop walking until they stood outside the castle gates. Once the guards got a good look at them, they let them into the courtyard where they waited for Bruce. It didn’t take long for Damian to tumble out of the castle gate. He nearly stumbled when he jumped into his arms.

The corners of his mouth shot up like a madman. It was just so unreal. “Heya, buddy!”, he said. Damian tightened his hold and he answered with a squeeze of his own, petting the back of Damian’s head.

Eventually, Damian let go but one of his hands kept holding onto his shirt. He didn’t say anything.

“Master Dick! Master Jason!”. Alfred hurried down the stairs with Bruce in tow. “So good to see you again. We feared the worst when the search parties couldn’t find you.”. He smiled at them. It made his insides even more warm and fuzzy.

However, as Alfred got close, he suddenly stopped and stared at Jason.

“Master Jason, your eyes!”.

He was opening his mouth when Jason spoke up. “Yeah, just a little gift from one of the bitch-witches up on the mountain. No need to worry though, it’s good now.”. 

It seemed to reassure Alfred, who came up to him and squeezed his shoulder. “That’s great. It’s really good to have you both back.”.

While glancing at Bruce, it seemed like the man wasn’t quite as convinced as Alfred. He kept his distance with his eyes quietly locked on Jason with a tightly wound expression.

Damian stepped aside a bit when he began to move towards Bruce. Yet he didn’t let go of his shirt.

“Bruce, we need to talk. It’s urgent…”, he started.

“In my office.”, came the instant reply. Bruce already started to head back into the building.

Damian insisted on staying with them but Alfred grabbed his shoulder as he tried to enter the office alongside them.

“Master Damian, they surely have a lot of things to discuss. It’d be best if we do not disturb them.”.

“We’ll be quiet.”, came the immediate reply.

He turned around just in time to see Damian pout up at Alfred.

“It’s okay. We’ll be back soon, alright?”. He gently ruffled Damian’s hair. Usually, Damian would tell him to lay off and stop treating him like a kid. This time though his mood seemed different. The pout remained but he didn’t voice any objection. He simply nodded and let Alfred guide him away.

Bruce gestured for them to sit down. After having constantly been on the move for the whole day, his body bounced at the offer. However, as he sat down at the desk opposite Bruce, Jason chose to lean against the wall with his arms crossed.

“It seems as if you’ve been through a lot.”. Bruce's face still looked grim. Geez, it was as like he’d implode upon showing the smallest bit of joy.

Jason snorted. “No kidding.”.

“I apologize. It was my blunder that caused all of this.”. Oh, so that’s what it was. Whatever. he had other priorities right now than trying to soothe Bruce’s savior complex.

“Did you know?”, he asked. Bruce's rigid expression finally opened up, changing into a confused look.

“Did I know what?”.

There wasn’t any tactful way of asking, really. So he just laid it out. “That Damian was their target? That they were sent by Ra’s?”.

Bruce’s troubled expression was back in full force.

“…No. Ra’s is not known for… _mixing_ with others. I took that woman to be just another one of Luthor’s mercenaries. Either way, I was certain they’d go for me first and that the safety precautions would be enough.”.

He paused and momentarily glanced sideways. Then his eyes steeled themselves on Jason.

“What happened?”.

Oh man. It was Jason’s turn to look away.

When Jason kept quiet, it was up to him to tell the story. He abbreviated as much as he could while recounting the events. Bruce noticeably reacted at the mention of Slade and Ra’s but even more so when he brought up Talia. It was the only time he interrupted as he spoke.

“Did she mention where they were going?”.

He shook his head.

“No. She seemed to agree that the Pit was a bust. As for where they’d headed next, I have no idea.”. 

He studied Bruce’s face. Whatever Bruce was feeling, his body didn’t betray anything.

“I see.”, was all he responded with before beckoning for him to continue.

Once he’d finished retelling the events, Bruce finally stood up. 

“One of the detained Metropolitan envoys shared something interesting. Apparently, they’d been told that someone would be waiting at the southern wall. That someone would be transporting some important cargo and would identify himself by showing a green rock. They were to aid this person’s entry into the castle.”.

Bruce leaned back against the window, crossing his arms. 

“They were never told anything else apart from that. Such as that “person” being more of Ra’s soldiers and that their sole purpose was to be a diversion. They didn’t even realize something was off until Ra’s soldier that was stationed with them killed those guards.”.

Bruce lifted his arm up to pinch the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes briefly.

“I never expected Ra’s to team up with Luthor.”. 

They must be thinking the same thing. That cargo had to be a wheystone. If it’d gotten into Gotham, the invasion would’ve been inevitable.

“This can’t have been the only time they’ve tried to relocate wheystones here.”.

Bruce nodded. “I’ve already been briefed about their existence. All I needed to do was verify their locations but I’ve yet to receive word of it.”.

“How did you know? Since when?”.

“I’m acquainted with a person in Luthor’s court. He’s a good man.”, was the brief answer.

“And you trust that person?”, asked Jason, arms still folded.

“Well, you’ve just confirmed the intel I’ve received. So yes.”.

Dick stood up. “You’re going to have to sweep every inch of Gotham. Not just the city.”.

Bruce nodded. “It’s already being done. We’ll have to double our efforts now that there’s no more doubt. Before Luthor gets a chance to strike. He’s probably already using the imprisonment of the envoys as a pretense for launching a new war campaign. I’ve already dispatched messengers to Diana and the others.”.

It made his stomach knot. Dammit, the last war had just ended. All those lives lost. They had to nip this in the bud.

“You’ll have to knock down his factory in the Pit too. Or else he’ll keep coming.”. Jason murmured.

“Yes. We could use your help with that. But first, you two need to rest.”.

Jason stopped leaning against the wall and was about to protest when Bruce held up his hand. “That’s an _order_. There’s nothing to be done right now.”.

Jason didn’t look appeased in the least. He looked to Dick for help.

And Dick firmly let out a clear “No.”.

Jason gaped in surprise and Bruce bore his eyes into him like a hawk, just the way he had when Dick had been young.

It was a look he’d grown immune to long ago.

“You won’t tell us what happened during the war. You keep us out of the loop when all of Gotham is at stake. You lie and tell us that you’re the only family Damian has left. If you’re hiding something else, then you owe us an explanation. I won’t leave until you do.”.

Bruce actually flinched slightly. It poked at his conscience and he tried to soften the blow.

“I know you’re full of good intentions, Bruce. But you can’t keep stuff like this from us. We’re not kids. We’ve fought plenty for you before.”.

Bruce rubbed his face. Maybe he was exasperated by his antics. Or just tired. He turned away from them, toward the window with his back to them.

“Alright. What do you wish to know?”.

“Damian. Why lie to us about that?”.

“…Talia and I came to an agreement. I couldn’t leave Damian with Ra’s. She couldn’t leave her father. Therefore, she gave Damian to me and in return, I swore to back off from toppling Ra’s. I deemed it best to not let Damian know about his mother in case he’d try to find her. It would be too dangerous, especially since Ra’s has been waiting to sink his claws into him.”. 

A short silence followed. “I never meant to deceive any of you. The fewer people that knew, the better. At least until it became clear what we were dealing with.”.

“Really? So it wasn’t you trying to cover up that you shagged the daughter of an enemy to Gotham?”, Jason muttered.

That was such a low blow. He was tempted to tug off his shoe and throw it at Jason.

Bruce turned at him, glaring daggers and eyes flashing.

“If I’d known, I would never have agreed to such a deal. There would have been other ways of freeing Damian. It was my mistake yes, for blatantly believing that there was nothing more to it and that Ra’s would keep to himself after the war. But everything that happened, everything I _did_ , has been for Gotham.”.

He never raised his voice but it was spoken with utter, firm conviction. Jason did seem to shrink back a little.

“Now, get something to eat and _rest_.”. Bruce's voice was softer this time.

They were led out of the office. He could’ve sworn Bruce’s lips quirked up a little when he looked at them. 

“We’ll reconvene tomorrow.”. Then Bruce shut the door with a small click. 

“He’s so full of shit.”, Jason muttered as they walked down the hall. 

He couldn’t help but agree. He was telling them to rest while he’d probably be working through the night all by himself.

“Maybe. Either way, we’ll catch up on it later. For now, let’s celebrate yeah?”.

He bumped his shoulder against Jason’s.

“We’re home.”.

* * *

Damian waited for them alongside Alfred in the dining hall. He still seemed sullen about being excluded. However, he eventually warmed up when he got to hear about their “adventure”.

He intentionally left the parts about Ra’s and Talia blurry. Maybe one day they could tell him the truth but Bruce was right. Now wasn’t the time. 

He threw the occasional glance at Jason, but he never seemed to take notice, too occupied with devouring his food in silence. Maybe he was too tired to talk.

Jason left the table and walked off when he was only half-through telling Damian their story. 

Eventually, he had to excuse himself as well, much to Damian’s chagrin.

Alfred, reliable as always, stepped in to save the day.

“It’s been a long day for Master Dick. We need to let him rest.”.

Damian pouted but didn’t make any further fuss.

He turned towards Dick with a wink and warm smile.

“A bath has been drawn for you, sir, should you feel inclined.”. 

It was as if the man had read his thoughts. He wanted to lift him up in the air in a twirling hug and give him a big kiss on the cheek. He settled for clapping his hands together and bowing slightly, his cheek pulled up in a big grin before excusing himself enthusiastically.

Soaking in the bath turned out to be absolutely _divine_. Especially after having only jumped into the occasional, ice-cold lakes on their journey.

The heated water was almost a bit too relaxing; hugging his body as his eyelids got heavy. Probably a sign that he should head off to bed but it was too good. Things were going to get busy again tomorrow but for now, he was going to enjoy this brief moment to its fullest.

He took his sweet time, letting the water turn lukewarm and the skin on his fingers and toes get pruney before getting out. As he dried his body and hair with a nearby towel, he noticed that someone had left a fresh set of clothes on a stool. Presumably Alfred, bless that man’s soul.

Considering that he was about to go to bed, he put them on rather haphazardly, not even bothering to fully button up the white linen shirt.

Finally came the moment he’d been waiting for: blissful sleep.

Only problem was that upon entering the chamber, somebody was sitting on the bed.

Instinctively, his hand went to his belt, looking to grip the handle of his blade, only to be reminded that he was unarmed. A moment later, the man stood up, face no longer obscured by the bed pillar.

“Damn Jay, don’t lurk around like that.”.

So stupid. There wasn’t any need to feel on edge anymore. Yet his heartbeat kept thumping even as Jason walked closer in view, without responding.

Instead, he silently passed him and shut the door behind him.

“…I couldn’t sleep.”.

Jason walked back into the room and started pacing slowly back and forth.

“And why’s that?”.

He walked to the bed to sit down and pulled off his boots with a small, satisfied sigh.

After taking a moment to seemingly gather himself, Jason stopped with his arms at his hips. His unnaturally green eyes turned to him as he spoke.

“…My _condition_.”.

Ah.

Jason had been weirdly taciturn the whole trip back and he’d just been glad to have him back. Whatever happened in the Pit, it really seemed to have healed him for the most part. There were no more glowing and drumming chest incidents or anything other particularly unnatural. The changed eye color seemed to be a simple enough side-effect and Jason wasn’t noticeably affected by it nor by the supernatural strength, he could conjure at will.

“I swear, this shit’s so weird, Dick. It’s different from before but still feels…good?”.

Jason looked about as confused as he was feeling right now.

“Well then, what’s the issue?”.

Jason turned his eyes sideways and suddenly seemed awfully intrigued by the window.

“The others, they don’t know. What I did. What I might still be capable of.”.

“C’mon, we’ve talked about this. Those were just exaggerated impulses caused by the curse. It wasn’t you. The real you.”.

“You’re wrong. They were still _my_ impulses. The curse never forced me to act on them.”.

He watched Jason swallow and turn his gaze back towards him.

“…it hasn’t changed.”.

“What?”.

“I said, it hasn’t changed.”.

Jason scowled, _deeply_ , as if in pain.

“Everything is still so… visceral. Not as shitty as before but still so fucking strong.”.

He began pacing again.

“I don’t think I can stay here. Not like this. I’ll help with Luthor but then I’m outta here.”.

He stood up and walked up to Jason. Who took a step back before pausing.

He stopped as well, a couple of inches away, holding out his arms in an appeasing gesture.

“You _can_. Just give it some time. And hey, Bruce surely knows a trick or two that could help.”.

He tilted forward and poked at Jason’s chest.

“There’s no need for you to banish yourself for simply being a bit different than before. You’re _not_ a monster, Jay. You’re a member of this family and nothing will change that.”.

“…I know.”.

Jason rubbed his face. He must’ve spotted his doubt because he added a firm “ _Really_. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s not worth the risk. I could still be dangerous.”.

Oh geez, this was getting ridiculous. He snorted. “You’re not. Even if you might have the impulse to choke Damian for being a brat, your desire to protect will win out. We can handle you, big guy. You just need to have some faith.”.

He playfully jabbed at Jason’s arm. However, Jason’s sullen face didn’t crack one bit. 

“Carefree as always. Shouldn’t you have realized by now who’s in most danger?”.

Jason seemed to be struggling with something. He ruffled his hair in frustration, sucking in a deep breath.

“Alright. Fuck it.”.

He closed the space between them in a single step and leaned close.

“You wanna know what I’ve been thinking about, _craving_ , these last few weeks? I know you’re not stupid, you must’ve had an inkling after that night. What it meant. Now imagine that times a thousand. Because it’s gotten _worse_. Really, it’s painful as shit and I don’t know how to get rid of it.”.

He tried not to avert his eyes but it was nearly an impossible task. Jason had laid it all out in such a raw fashion, too much and too sudden for him to keep up.

He was also too damn close.

Jason grasped his shoulders in a tight grip, fingers digging into them.

“You need to give it to me straight. What do _you_ want?”.

It was like his tongue had gone numb. He tried, really. After all, he had promised to give a proper answer. This was important.

Yet no words came to mind.

Jason's face changed, looking at him with something akin to pity. He leaned in and drew him into a hug for a brief moment, his arms wrapping around the shoulders. There was a frustrated growl near his ear that made him jump before Jason abruptly letting him go, pushing him away.

“Got it.”.

Jason’s voice was low and _hurt_ and he started to walk away when he shot out his hand and grabbed Jason by the arm.

“Wait!”.

He still had no idea what to say. Jason stood expectantly, looking at him and waiting for him to speak.

When no words came, Jason spoke up quietly. “It’s okay, don’t force yourself. I’ll…I’ll work on this. Don’t worry about it, alright? Just in the meantime, let’s keep some distance, yeah?", It looked like Jason wanted to bolt out of there at once, as his gaze wandered to the door.

“Just hang on. What happens next?”.

More specifically _to us_ but he left that unsaid.

“Nothing, really. As I said, don’t think I can stay here but that’s about it.”.

“…and if I don’t want you to leave?”.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and took another audible, deep breath as if he was dealing with an extremely frustrating child. Good. He wasn’t planning on making this easy for him.

"Look, just stop. Don’t kiss my ass in hopes that I’ll stay. I’m _going_.”.

Jason must’ve seen the way his face dropped because his expression seemed to soften.

“This doesn’t change anything between us, okay? If you ever need my help, I’ll be there. _Always_.”.

Hesitantly Jason leaned his own forehead down against his own, rubbing them together before placing a gentle kiss between the ruffled and still somewhat damp strands of hair. Jason’s other hand stroked his cheek carefully.

Then he stepped back, peeling Dick’s hand away from his arm.

Dammit. If this really was what Jason wanted and not just an impulse, he had no right to stop him. He understood that. Hell, he’d even considered leaving Gotham many times himself. Someday he probably will. Slade had been right about that.

Then why did it feel so horribly wrong?

“Okay then. See you tomorrow.”.

Jason turned to leave again. His hand was nearly on the handle when Dick grabbed him once more.

Without thinking, he pulled Jason’s head down and _kissed_ him. Fully on the lips. Almost immediately, Jason took a hold of his arms and pushed him away, recoiling backward. He winced at the force of Jason’s grip.

“What the _fuck_?”, Jason bit out between clenched teeth.

“Just wait!”, he blurted out.

Shit, this definitely wasn't the most elegant thing he’d done.

“Wait for _what_? What the hell are you playing at? You trying to what, smooch me and shit to make me stay?!”.

Jason’s face twisted in a whole myriad of emotions. Anger and hurt were prominent but mostly it seemed full of disbelief.

His own veins started pumping as well, as anger coursed through him in a rush.

“I said _wait_! You can’t just waltz in here and do whatever you please just to bail in the end.”.

He immediately regretted the phrasing.

“Crap, I didn’t mean it like that. But you can’t dump something like this on me and walk away like that. Please just...”.

He couldn’t let Jason leave like this. Not without resolving things, not after everything they'd been through. Every fiber of his being was in uproar at the idea. 

His attempt didn’t seem to appease Jason. “Just what?”.

“Just give me a second.”.

“For fuck’s sake, I’m not leaving right away. If you wanted to say anything else, you’d still have millions of seconds left to do so.”. 

Jason took a step forward into his space, forcing him to involuntarily take a step back.

“What you can’t do, however, is be an asshole and fuck me over like this when I just _told you_ -.”.

“I’m not 'fucking' you over! Geez, just-”

Jason seemed tired of listening. He backed him all the way up against the bed in a few steps and pushed him down on it.

He was about to sit up when Jason growled “Stay there.” while pointing his finger at him. Jason turned away again and started walking towards the door.

Oh hell no. Jason’s condition did not grant him any special privileges of being a domineering asshole. Dick wasn’t a damn dog he could put in place.

He was tempted to go and knock him down by swiping at his feet. Instead, he stood up as quickly as possible and shouted whatever first came to mind.

“This isn’t about you leaving! I just want to- to try to explain. But you’re not giving me a damn chance!”.

It seemed to have worked because Jason stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t turn around though.

“Just lemme try to sort things out. Please.”.

Oh gods, it sounded pathetic. But it didn’t matter, as long as Jason stayed.

He rubbed his face with one hand. Okay, deep breaths.

“ Okay…so I don’t have a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for you, Jay. All I have is the fact that I care about you. _A lot_. Which makes this so difficult.”.

“Why?”, Jason demanded, his back till toward Dick.

“I’ve thought about it too, you know. That night at Tim’s.”.

This time, Jason did turn around and face him. His expression seemed skeptical but at least he wasn’t walking away anymore.

“And I just don’t know. It sucks and it-it’s frustrating! I try to think about it, what it’ll mean, how to feel about it. But nothing decisive comes of it. No matter how much I rack my brains about it.”.

Jason turned his head slightly, eyes darting to the door.

“Except one thing.”.

Here goes nothing. 

“I want to try.”.

Jason's brows furrowed in confusion. He slowly turned his head back at him with wide eyes.

“That’s all I know. It might not be what you wish for. It might just turn out painful and messy. But I think- No, I _believe_ it’s worth trying. _Please_. Let’s just…figure it out.”.

It all tumbled out in one breath.

“I want to be with you. Okay?”.

Jason kept staring at him like he was mad. Didn’t utter a single word. His skin started to prickle with unease, the silent treatment making him squirm under the weight of Jason’s gaze. Why was he anxious? Regardless of what happens, they’re going to be fine. Jason had said so himself.

Right?

He rubbed his hands against his face. This was getting embarrassing.

“Sheesh, that didn’t come out right. Sorry. Uh, just lemme try again. What I meant was-“.

He didn’t get to finish his sentence when Jason was on him, crashing their lips together. His heated palms found his face and held it fast.

Then suddenly, he was walking him backward back to the bed. In an instant, Jason’s hands shifted to his waist and he lifted him up before dropping him down. They fell onto the mattress. He bounced against the soft material and drew a small gasp for air as Jason landed on top of him. Jason slotted their mouths back together, clutching his shoulders and pinning him down, taking his fill.

His own hands clawed at the fabric around Jason’s elbows, unsure of what to do. 

Jason stopped the kiss and looked down at him. His face held the same kind of reverence as it had back at Tim’s place.

It was too much.

He writhed, causing Jason to stroke his cheek while leaning down on his other arm over him.

“Okay?”, Jason breathed out.

It took a moment for him to gather any semblance of thought. Jason’s touch on his cheek and unwavering gaze was distracting as hell. Jason’s pupils were dilated, barely blinking, as he observed him.

He slowly nodded, stroking Jason’s taut arm. His nerves were still all over the place. He didn’t know whether it was because of the suddenness of the situation or if he simply couldn’t wrap his head around being with Jason like this at all, pinned down under the bulk of his body and the unfamiliar touch.

Either way, he was ready to find out once and for all. That much he was sure of.

He tried to expel any remaining unease through in one big breath, before grabbing the back of Jason’s head and pulling him in for another kiss.

Jason responded enthusiastically. His hands began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He nearly tore the second button off. At the fourth button, he stopped and instead placed his hand inside and started to firmly stroke his chest. He couldn’t contain the small noise that escaped his throat when Jason suddenly and repeatedly rubbed against his left nipple. He playfully bit Jason’s lip in response, stroking his own hands against Jason’s hip and lower back. The clothing that got in between was getting frustrating. Jason seemed to have similar thoughts because he hoisted him up and continued to strip him of his shirt. Once off, he chucked it to the side.

Then Jason started pushing him back down on the bed again, moving onto his trousers.

He pushed back.

“Yours.”, he uttered while pawing at the buttons on Jason’s shirt. Jason leaned back and began to divest himself of the shirt. Then immediately diving back down for another kiss while fumbling with the last buttons.

In the meantime, Dick got to work on ridding him of the belt. As he did, his hand brushed against Jason’s erection. Jason moaned at the touch and tried to deepen the kiss. The enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming but he didn’t mind. It was nice just being swept away, letting him take the lead for now.

Jason had managed to unbutton his shirt but didn’t care to remove it. Instead, he pushed him down again and this time Dick complied. He went for the belt and trousers again. It was still nerve-wracking but Jason continued to assault his senses by stroking him all over, kissing his neck while his other hand worked on his remaining clothing. He even palmed Dick’s own erection.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the hip and Jason shuffled him closer to his body. His legs were lifted up against Jason’s shoulders. It was nearly rabid; the way Jason nearly tore off his trousers. He tried to help by wriggling out of them but to no avail. Jason’s pull still resulted in the sound of cloth tearing. 

He grimaced. Jason didn’t seem awfully concerned about it, chucking them to the side.

Jason paused, seemingly appraising his by slowly stroking his hand down his abdomen. It tickled a bit, as Jason’s fingers lightly touched his side. He grinned. Jason grinned back, took a hold of his hand, holding it up to his face and nosing it first before placing a tender kiss on the palm.

His other hand had snuck up and suddenly took a hold of his erection. It ripped another embarrassing gasp out of him.

Jason, the bastard, just kept grinning. He let go of his hand and leaned down to kiss him again.

Heat flushed through him and stirred something in his groin. He moved his hand down to reciprocate Jason with some intimate touching of his own.

Except Jason grabbed his wrist midway and pushed it back against the mattress, next to his head.

“S’okay, I’m good.”, Jason muttered under his breath.

It was kinda funny, the way Jason tried to contain himself, acting all stoic.

“Are you now?”, he teased, raising his left leg and pressing his knee gently against the bulge in Jason’s trousers. Jason bit back a noise, cheeks tinting with a hint of red.

It was adorable.

It became a tit for tat after that, as Jason started pumping his erection more fervently and he himself moved his hand down palming Jason’s.

However, Jason’s clothing still bothered him.

He pulled at Jason’s shirt as his hand ran across Jason’s brawny back. Once he reached the bottom, he slipped his hand and scratched his fingers lightly across Jason’s lower spine, over a small scar over his hip. Jason shivered underneath his touch and hitched his breath.

Hesitantly at first, Jason leaned back and stripped his remaining clothing, allowing him to take in the view. It wasn’t the first time he’d noted how attractive Jason was. Gods know that Jason’s big and strong build along with his handsome face had gotten him more than a fair share of lingering looks. He’d heard the maids swooning about him and his visits to the local bar, known that he didn’t lack for company there despite his rough manners.

His now unnaturally green eyes didn’t detract anything from his good looks. On the contrary. It would always be a symbol of Jason’s virtue, the lengths he’d gone to in order to save his family.

Seeing Jason’s member unraveled also made things more palpable. _Oh crap_ , they were really going to do this.

Jason leaned down again, nuzzling his nose against Dick’s before going in for a kiss. It was playful one moment, Jason licking and nibbling at his lips, gaining entrance, before devouring his mouth.

One of Jason’s hands caressed its way down his thigh, before gripping his hip tightly. The other started stroking him further down than before, at his perineum before moving down to the entrance.

His whole body tensed with anticipation. This was it.

However, Jason seemed to sense his unease because he paused his stroking down there. Instead, he maneuvered his mouth onto his erection.

 _Holy smokes_.

It really had been too long. The wetness of Jason’s mouth and the deep pressure that engulfed his member was maddening. He didn’t even care about the small, breathy moans that started to spill out of his mouth as Jason moved up and down his member. It wouldn’t be long before he was about to blow. It would be way too soon, embarrassingly so.

Jason twirled his tongue around his shaft but suddenly stopped and drew back, lips glistening with saliva.

Whatever shred of dignity he’d had left went out of the window because he let out a pathetic whine.

Jason looked towards the nightstand, searching for something with his eyes.

_Ah._

He wriggled out from underneath Jason and leaned out to open the second drawer, pulling out one of his vials with crystalline oil.

He poured a generous amount into his hands and palm. Then he reached down to his entrance and pressed in a slick fingertip while focusing on relaxing the muscles. Slow and steady wins the race. As he pushed his own finger in and out, Jason let out a husky groan.

It made him look up. Jason’s pupils were blown wide and he seemed to be itching with desire, transfixed by Dick’s finger going in and out. It sent another wave of heat and arousal coursing through his body. It was dizzying to be wanted like this.

Jason shuffled closer and retrieved the vial from his grasp. The content poured into his hand, some of it spilling to the sides. After hastily bottling it, he put it down next to them on the mattress, quickly turning his attention back to Dick.

He towered over him hungrily, moving his hand down to where he was dipping his own finger in and out, creating wonderful friction.

It was unnerving. A part of him didn’t want to surrender the control over that part yet. But he relented as Jason’s hand brushed against his. He moved his own hand away and laid back.

“It’s okay, it’s okay…”, Jason murmured over and over as his thick finger penetrated Dick’s entrance. He wasn’t sure who he was talking to. Either way, it drew a gasp from his lips. There was even more friction than before, Jason’s thicker finger brushing against his inner walls.

He was going to be okay. Crap, more than okay.

“I got you. Fuck, you’re unreal, you know that?”. Jason was back to stroking his cheek with his free hand but kept up the relentless penetration, even adding a second finger. There was an initial sting before it sunk into him nice and easy.

That pent-up need for release was back in full force. Jason leaned down and licked the shell of his ear before biting the earlobe.

For the second time, Jason stopped as his arousal was reaching its peak. This time he clawed at Jason’s back in retaliation, ushering him to continue.

Jason was unbottling the vial again, shakenly spilling more of the oil onto the palm of his hand. Jason didn’t even seem to bottle it properly before throwing it towards the end of the bed and returning his attention to him. Glancing downwards, he could see Jason coat his member.

His body tensed nervously again. Geez, this wishy-washy state of mind was getting tiresome. This wasn’t do or die, they could just stop if it didn’t feel right. All he had to do was to let go. Roll with the waves. Be cool as a -

He must’ve zoned out because suddenly Jason gripped his hip, positioning himself between his legs and guiding his member to his entrance.

He shut his eyes, once again reverting to the old tactic of methodical, deep breaths. It didn’t stop him from flinching as Jason breached him. It was painful, far from the pleasant pressure of the two fingers from before. Even as the slick and coated tip got deeper inside, it still took all of his focus to try and adjust to it, willing his muscles to yield.

Jason nearly collapsed on top of him, body shuddering. He panted into Dick’s ear, chest heaving against his. Yet he kept still, beside a shallow thrust now and then.

They just laid there for a moment. A quiet whimper escaped him while writhing and adjusting to Jason’s member inside of him. Eventually, his struggle to control his breathing did the trick. First, the pain faded as his muscles stopped spasming. Then with a roll of his hips, he was blessed with a delightful grind against Jason’s member inside of him. Jason grunted and nosed his neck as if seeking comfort. 

He tapped Jason’s shoulder.

In an instant, Jason gave an experimental thrust. Then another thrust followed. And another one.

Finally, the friction set fire to something inside as the thrusts went deeper, stroking his gland in a way that sent pleasure crackling throughout his groin and nerve endings. It didn’t fizzle out due to Jason’s continued rapid pace, hitting the spot over and over in succession. He couldn’t hold back the moans. They were obscenely loud as his arousal spiked ever upwards, making his toes curl.

Suddenly, a hand covered his mouth, putting pressure on his lips and muffling the mid-moan that followed another particularly powerful thrust. 

“Sorry, others might hear.”, Jason panted into his ear.

Crap. It just served to turn him on even more. He stopped holding back. The series of whimpers and moans came out muted under the firm surface of Jason’s hand.

It seemed to do something to Jason as well.

His eyes lit up and suddenly his thrusts became even more erratic and craving. He bit the side of his neck while one of his hands found his left nipple again, tugging it between his fingers before rubbing the bud between his fingers. Another loud moan was muffled by Jason’s hand pressing down over his mouth.

He clawed at Jason’s arm but gained no relief, as the pressure built and boiled over from the thrusts, his insides throbbing from the onslaught.

Jason pinched his nipple just as another thrust filled him up, hammering down on that spot.

In a flash, it sent him over the edge and his body violently shuddered. He cried out and _mewled_ underneath Jason’s hand, closing his eyes tightly shut. He soaked in the delicious release, that pressure _finally_ having been relieved. 

Except that Jason kept pounding him, grunting and rutting, chasing release while still nuzzling his neck.

He tapped Jason’s hand over his mouth. Jason let go, fingers sliding off his mouth down to the mattress, but kept thrusting. 

He leaned up, grabbing Jason’s face and ground their mouths together. Jason wrapped his arms around him, slotting their slick chests together.

Then he clenched every muscle in his lower abdomen as Jason did another deep thrust.

A series of grunts and moans poured into his mouth, as he felt Jason’s member stiffen and his body go taut. Jason tried to pull out, clutching at his hips with enough force to leave marks, but he didn’t make it and spilled it all while still inside.

They both collapsed down on the bed, both still out of breath. Jason rolled to the side. It felt like it’d been ages since he’d seen Jason so relaxed, a lazy smile adorning his face.

What the hell had he been scared of?

He looked at Jason, who responded by directing that lazy smile towards him. Jason’s hand reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of his face.

“Shit. I could go again.”.

It cracked him up and suddenly they were both smiling at each other like idiots.

However, Jason simmered down, his face suddenly turning serious. His sharp, green eyes seemed to be examining his face intensely. The hand that had brushed his hair out of the way lowered itself down to his jawline, fingers ghosting against it, before moving up to caress his cheek. Instinctively he leaned into the warmth of his palm and the thumb stroking up and down gently. He put his own hand on top of Jason’s, rubbing it. He could vaguely hear the thumping from Jason’s wrist, a resonant but steady pulse.

“Think things will turn out okay?”.

He wasn’t sure whether Jason was referring to stopping Luthor or _this_.

“Well, things are just getting started…".

He pressed a kiss into Jason’s palm.

“But I’m liking our chances.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> If you found this enjoyable, please drop kudos or a comment, it'd make my day. Don't forget to subscribe if you'd like to see more. 
> 
> Lastly, I'd love to have a beta-reader for future works so please give me a holler if you're interested.


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